Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
Then the other point, too, ISO — the International Standards 
Organization — of course, adopted a standard test method that is used 
throughout the world, that is essentially the same. And they, in the 
investigations, particularly in Germany and the UK, had many of the 
same questions here. 
DR. BENOWITZ: But there is no drawback for providing more information. 
DR. TOWNSEND: Oh, absolutely. I think we always have to look at new 
information that is available, and look at it in depth, critique it, and see if 
anything is there. 
DR. HOFFMANN: I am somewhat puzzled. I have seen the tobacco field for 
decades, and I always found the tobacco industry to be flexible. The pressure 
from the consumer and from the scientific community led to the industry 
changing the cigarette. And you have in Science the outstanding study by 
Dr. Benowitz. 
We all agree that there is some compensation, and I find that you are 
inflexible. We have to work on it; there is a way. I am surprised. I have, 
in all the X years I have been working in this field, I have never seen such 
an inflexible thing as this, where you stick to the FTC method. 
I think we can always improve, and U.S. scientists know this just as 
well as I. 
DR. DEBETHIZY: Let me ask this question. Have you seen a proposal put 
on the table that seriously would improve on the current method? 
DR. HOFFMANN: The advances in the research have been done by both 
sides — by industry as well as the scientific community. Suddenly, I find that 
you say, "No, the FTC method is the final word." 
DR. DEBETHIZY: 1 think that clearly what we have said is that, with 30 years 
in a standardized method that has been incredibly valuable to consumers, 
the industry, and the scientists that we have not seen any reason to walk 
away from that. I would just give it back to the group and say, let's see a 
serious proposal. 
DR. TOWNSEND: 1 am sorry that you are misreading this as being inflexible. 
1 think the fact is that the F'l'C method has worked for a long time, and it 
continues to work. 
But demonstrate what the proposal is, and how it adds to what we have 
now, to make things better, or to provide some more information. For 
example, one of the proposals that was floated this morning included a 
min and max level. Okay, let's smoke a cigarette at FTC conditions, and 
then let's go to a more intensive smoking condition, to report min and max. 
What is going to happen from that is that you get exactly the same 
ranking; it is just more numbers, but it is the same ranking. And consumers 
are making their choices based on ranking. 
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