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INTRODUCTIOII 



One of tHa aain research objectives of Group R. A D. Centre is Co 



put B-A.T. in^4 position to design cigarettes of increased consuaer 



^■. . 

 acceptance. Thi« objective is confined to a consideration of product 



•'^ . -»- 

 features, and the way these influence the consumer. Those factors which' 



may be termed the "imagery", including brand name, pack design, advertising 



etc., although obviously of friae inportance in marketing terms, fall 



outside the scope of Croup R. & 0. Centre. Even with this restriction 



the objective is still a very broad one, *nd leaves room for a number 



of different approaches. The particular approach to be discussed in 



the present report aims to produce certain basic Information, generated 



as a resulc of research among O.K. smokers, which can be of general 



utility in a vatiety of markets. C^ 



In considering which product features are important in terms of 



consumer acceptance, Coe nicotine delivery is one of the more obvious 



candidates. Others include ^ he taste and flavour characteristics of 



the smoke, physical features suCb as draw resistance and rate of bum, 



and the general uniformity of the product, to name but a few. The 



.importance of nicotine hardly needs to be stressed, as it is so widely 



recognised. Among numerous pieces of evidence may be mentioned an 



exercise conducted some years ago by the IcipeiLal Tobacco Company. 



As a result of extensive testing among U.K. stackers they concluded that 



the optimum nicotine delivery for the market was around 1.4 mg per cigarette, 



and that stepwise reductions in delivery caused progressive rejection 



by consumers (1). Since the above research was completed thef» has been i 



a general decrease in the tar and nicotine deliveries of D.K. brands, q 



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