11 



stituted tobacco treated with ammonia has almost doubled the nic- 

 otine transfer efficiency of tobacco. 



How widespread is ammonia use in the industry? The company 

 handbook states that many U.S. tobacco companies use ammonia 

 technologies. Until we have access to similar documents from other 

 companies, we will not know whether other companies inten- 

 tionally use it to affect nicotine levels. 



Mr. Chairman, the control and manipulation of nicotine I have 

 described raises important questions. Why spend a decade develop- 

 ing through genetic breeding high-nicotine tobacco and adding it to 

 cigarettes if you are not interested in controlling and manipulating 

 nicotine? Why focus on the enhanced delivery of free nicotine to the 

 smoker by chemical manipulation if you are not interested in con- 

 trolling and manipulating nicotine? 



These questions are even more important in light of the indus- 

 try's repeated assertions that it does not control or manipulate nic- 

 otine. 



Now, let me discuss why the industry pays attention to nicotine. 

 We have learned that at least one company has identified target 

 levels of nicotine necessary to satisfy smokers' desire for nicotine. 



Furthermore, we now know about industry research into nico- 

 tine's physiological and pharmacological effects. Let me give you 

 one example of how a company identified specific levels of nicotine 

 necessary to satisfy smokers. 



A company document describes consumer preference testing on 

 "impact," which the company correlates with nicotine. The docu- 

 ment states that impact is a "high priority" attribute of cigarettes 

 and is "controllable to relatively fine tolerances by product develop- 

 ment and product intervention by manipulating nicotine in blend 

 and in smoke." This document goes on to describe an elaborate 

 model shown on the chart for establishing the minimum and maxi- 

 mum nicotine levels tolerated by consumers. 



It states that the model provides "a median ideal point level for 

 milligrams nicotine in smoke," and a range of tolerable nicotine lev- 

 els around this ideal point. 



The document notes what happened when this testing method 

 was applied to a group of European smokers: "It is clear that con- 

 sumers are less tolerant of decreases than they are of increases in 

 nicotine delivery. By the time nicotine levels fall to approximately 

 0.35 milligrams, 50 percent of consumers will be saying that the 

 level of impact is so low they would reject the product." 



Mr. Chairman, this document makes clear that at least one com- 

 pany is aware of the need to target nicotine delivery to levels nec- 

 essary to satisfy smokers. In fact, as one tobacco flavor specialist 

 has written, one of the most important goals of cigarette design is 

 to "ensure high satisfaction from an adequate level of nicotine per 

 puff." And that even cigarettes with reduced levels of nicotine and 

 tar must have this property. 



Mr. Chairman, let me turn to the industry's knowledge of the 

 drug-like effects of nicotine. I will first describe several studies 

 commissioned by the tobacco industry. As I go through them, ask 

 yourself, are these the kinds of studies that would be conducted by 

 an industry interested only in the flavor or taste of nicotine? 



