Chapter 13 
DR. BENOWITZ: There is a slope such that there is not 100 percent 
compensation, although it may be close in some studies. But 1 would agree 
that there is a slope. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: And 1 think that what we have done is taken things to the 
next step, what Dr. Henningfield called for earlier in his talk, which is to 
apply a technique that is used for other materials. 
If you were asking what the amount absorbed of a pharmaceutical 
product in a 24-hour period would be, you would measure the total amount 
excreted and sum it up. That is all we have done, and I think that the data 
deserve consideration. I think that additional work will determine whether 
that slope will stay as steep as it is now. 
I think you will notice that there were people above and below that, so 
there is wide variation. But the point is that people smoking lower yielding 
products are absorbing less. How much less, I do not know, and I suspect, 
even with our own data, we see some evidence that at the lowest yields, they 
are absorbing more than FTC would predict. 
DR. RICKERT: First of all, in looking at your data on the FTC yield and the 
nicotine, one is impressed by the fact that it looks like there are basically two 
points on that regression. One is at the very low .1 mg and the other one is 
up at 1.4. 
It seems to me that, for the bulk of the data, there is no relationship, that 
it is really a two-pronged display, with one at the bottom and one at the top 
and in the middle. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: And I think that what you are looking at is the fact that the 
two center groupings are very close in nicotine and tar yield, but of course 
there is a full range of products out there on the market, and that is what we 
wanted to address with that. 
DR. RICKERT: In reading the industry documents, it has been stated time 
and time again that consumers understand the FTC tar numbers. And my 
reading of the literature and what I have heard today suggest that is not so. 
And I was wondering whether there is industry information that supports the 
hypothesis that consumers, indeed, understand FTC numbers of tar and 
nicotine? 
DR. TOWNSEND: How could the industry have changed so dramatically 
over the years and people traded taste, if tar levels were not a consideration 
in their choice? 
People tell us, in focus groups and in other ways, "Yes, I am concerned 
about what I believe are health risks in smoking." They have been told that 
for 40 years, and they respond by looking at the tar levels of the products 
that they choose in the marketplace. 
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