231 



You have got other people who are sajdng what we ought to be 

 doing is gradually lowering the nicotine levels. That seems to me 

 to be an idea worth exploring, it's got its pros and cons. 



My question to you is: Are you willing to support any changes 

 in the regulatory system with tobacco or are you just going to say 

 we are going to keep doing business as usual even though the vast 

 majority of Americans disagree with your proposition and believe 

 that nicotine is addictive even though the Food and Drug Adminis- 

 tration is moving inexorably towards treating your product as a 

 drug? Are you still going to say it's business as usual or will you 

 support some of the changes possibly in areas I mentioned or in 

 areas? 



Mr. Sandefur. Congressman, I certainly don't want to be unrea- 

 sonable or take the position of being close minded at all. I don't 

 want to be perceived that way because I don't think I am. I think 

 that the laws that are on the books today are adequate in terms 

 of regulation of my industry. I can categorically say that my com- 

 pany and other members of the tobacco industry, all of my competi- 

 tors have the same opinion with regard to attracting young adults 

 or children to this product. We don't want that to happen. 



We believe that we are dealing with a legal product, but a prod- 

 uct that does have a health risk and each individual should have — 

 should be fully informed before they make that decision. I believe 

 that the FTC which Congress put in charge of a warning statement 

 has in fact done that. I think we — I don't think there is a — cer- 

 tainly not an adult around today that isn't aware of the risk of 

 smoking. So to answer your question, if there is something that can 

 be done over and above what's already on the books, it may be — 

 it may be reasonable, but I can't think of anything that needs to 

 be done. That's the reason I take the position I do with regard to 

 FDA. 



Mr. Wyden. Well, Mr. Sandefur, the laws on the books according 

 to the medical experts produce more than 400,000 deaths a year. 

 The laws on the books fmd that most of the smokers are in effect 

 addicted before the age of 18, so if you are saying the laws on the 

 books and the regulatory system are working, the medical authori- 

 ties of course dispute that. 



But I think even more important, you all are going to be left on 

 the platform and these trains are going to be leaving, and it seems 

 to me what would really be in the public interest, is that we get 

 to work devising a sensible, new regulatory system, the centerpiece 

 ought to be to keep young people from starting smoking. What we 

 are doing with respect to the young people is not working. Three 

 thousand young people starting every day. 



And I must say that until the tobacco industry shows some will- 

 ingness to look at a new kind of regulatory approach, I think you 

 all are going to get more and more marginalized. You will become 

 more and more irrelevant in this debate and it just seems to me 

 there's a better way to do business. 



Mr. Chairman, thank you. 



Mr. Sandefur. Well, Congressman, it is hard for me to envision 

 becoming more of an outcast than I already feel that I am. I might 

 say that to you. But I don't want to come across as being unreason- 

 able and I don't think any one of my counterparts at any tobacco 



