Section II 
Unfortunately, we have to come to grips with the problem today, and we 
cannot wait for tens of years to pass to obtain accurate information about 
today's cigarettes. 
DR. FREEMAN: Dr. Hughes? 
DR. HUGHES: 1 would like to respond very concretely to what you said. 
Dr. Cohen, and it is my opinion that if there is not information that you 
suggest about the health benefits of switching, the whole system should be 
junked. My concern is that we are going to say, "Yes, there should be this 
big public health campaign," and nothing will happen. NCI says, "We don't 
have money for it." FTC says, "We don't have the bureaucracy to do it." 
The FDA says, "We have other more important things to do," and this whole 
education campaign does not get done. We come up with a range of values 
that still has numbers on them, and people still think that they are doing 
themselves a big benefit, and 1 would rather junk the entire system than 
to have that happen. 
The only way around it 1 can see is that the FTC decides that all 
claims of light and ultralight imply a health claim and therefore require 
a disclaimer. That is the only way out of it 1 can see, to make sure that 
that happens. 
DR. FREEMAN: What form of disclaimer? 
DR. HUGHES: I do not want to micromanage with the wording. Whether 
we say, "You may get a small benefit" or "You will get very little benefit 
compared to stopping smoking," is a tough question, and 1 do not think 
we need to decide on that wording. My point, again, is to reiterate what 
Dr. Cohen said, which is that the system is bankrupt unless there is some 
statement about the magnitude of health benefit that you will receive by 
switching to a low-tar and -nicotine cigarette. 
DR. FREEMAN: Dr. Stitzer? 
DR. STITZER: I want to return to a point I made earlier. It seems to me 
that we would be doing a great service if we could implement a new testing 
technique that involved ranges that could display and convince smokers that 
light cigarettes are the same or can be exactly the same as a regular cigarette. 
I think the data show us that all the cigarettes from .4 mg up can look exactly 
the same. They basically are occupying the same place in space. The range 
of variability is the same, and that there is no health benefit for switching to 
light cigarettes because of this dose variation, but there are also some data 
suggesting that the ultralight cigarettes, those .1 mg and below, do produce 
a different level of exposure. 
Now, those cigarettes are not popular. They capture a very, very tiny 
segment of the market, but they may make a difference. We do not have 
the health data, but if there is a dose effect for health, those are the only 
cigarettes that are going to make a difference, and it seems to me that a 
new labeling system could potentially convey that kind of information. 
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