Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
DR. TOWNSEND: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the U.S. market, cigarettes 
with comparable blends, in fact, show similar ratios of most smoke 
constituents per milligram of tar. What that means is, as you bring the tar 
level down in a cigarette, these constituents also come down more or less 
proportionately. 
I guess the question then that leads me to is, are we providing really 
useful information for the consumer to use, or are we just giving them a lot 
of information that they are going to ignore, like I think Dr. Harris indicated 
that he did not read all the information on the food labeling. There is a lot 
of information there. Is it useful information? That is just a question I am 
proposing. 
DR. FREEMAN: I understand. Dr. Rickert? 
DR. RICKERT: I agree with what Dr. Guerin has said, in the sense that it 
would seem that if there are new products being developed that would have 
a zero yield of various carcinogens or ciliatoxic agents that must be allowed 
for, and I think for that, for the agent to appear on the package, there would 
have to be some consideration given to analytical detection limits and things 
of this nature. So, I do not think it should necessarily be a blanket piece of 
information that comes with every brand of cigarette, but there should be 
some differentiation based on the individual products of the cigarettes. 
DR. FREEMAN: Yes, Dr. Henningfield? 
DR. HENNINGFIELD: There always has to be a threshold for whether you 
list something, whether you are listing the lead in flour or rat droppings or 
whatever it is. So that is a basic concept, but I think the important thing is 
that an agency or panel with expertise, not the industry being regulated, 
make the decision. So if BHT is listed on flour or cookies, you know, we do 
not have to worry about how much of it is in there; I agree, that would be 
confusing, but another group decides if the cyanide should be listed as 
one of the "also contains" ingredients, for example, "also contains cyanide, 
formaldehyde, lead." You have somebody else decide what is of potential 
significance and therefore should be listed, and that is what is done with 
food labeling. 
DR. FREEMAN: So, in principle what are you saying that we should do? 
DR. HENNINGFIELD: Of course there is a threshold, but that threshold does 
not necessarily affect the labeling on the pack in the sense of the number 
because you are not putting any numbers in the same way that for potato 
chips you are not putting how much BHT is in there. You are listing the 
milligrams of things that groups decide are very important to list by 
milligrams like cholesterol and sodium, and then you have the list of other 
ingredients as Dr. Harris showed on his label, and what the thresholds are; 
to merit listing, another group decides that — a group with toxicology 
background. 
DR. FREEMAN: Dr. Rickert? 
22tJ 
