Chapter 7 
At some point in time, I do think people will be limited by how much 
smoke they take into their lungs. I do not think it is relevant to modern 
cigarettes as currently marketed, but it could be relevant to a low-nicotine 
cigarette. 
DR. BOCK: You made a distinction just now and said "overcompensation." 
Is that what you intend to imply? 
DR. BENOWITZ: Yes. 
DR. BOCK: Because there is a little bit of a difference between 
overcompensation and compensation. 
DR. BENOWITZ: Yes, I know. It is a good point. 
DR. HATSUKAMI: In the studies where you looked at the FTC yield and the 
actual intake, have any of the studies differentiated people who actually 
initiated with low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes and those who switched? 
Are there any differences in terms of slopes between those two groups of 
people? 
DR. BENOWITZ: I have never seen that, but obviously that is a very 
interesting question in terms of initiation. The earlier data that we heard 
from Dr. Giovino suggest that most low-yield cigarette smokers are people 
who switched from higher yield, which I think is quite interesting. But I 
do not know the percentage of people who start with low-yield cigarettes. 
It would be a good question. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: Would you say that, on average, the people who smoke 
lower yielding cigarettes absorb less nicotine? 
DR. BENOWITZ: Yes, but the slope is very shallow. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: So, if people are smoking very low-yielding cigarettes, they 
are absorbing less nicotine and the data do speak to that. So, compensation 
is incomplete; there is not a flat line. 
One of the studies that you pointed out up there said that people 
absorbed, on average, 1 mg of nicotine from cigarettes. And I think that 
it is important to point out that people who smoke lower yielding cigarettes 
do absorb less nicotine. 
DR. BENOWITZ: Yes, although it is unclear where the break is. Some of our 
data have suggested that the break is actually with the very, very low-yield 
cigarettes, rather than the cigarettes most people smoke. But I would accept 
the fact that there is a shallow relationship. Understand, however, that you 
are talking about a 10-percent variation in nicotine intake, going across 
yields from 0.1 to 1.6. So, there is some reduction in nicotine intake per 
cigarette on average, but it is very small. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: The other point I want to make is, you do rightfully point 
out that I will discuss a little later why our study, which is the Byrd study, 
may be unique from the plasma cotinine studies, in the fact that it is done 
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