Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
tar yield from 15 mg tar to 1 mg tar does not reduce relative risk from 
15 to 1. 
B. The FTC test protocol was based on cursory observations of human 
smoking behavior. Actual human smoking behavior is characterized 
by wide variations in smoking patterns, which result in wide 
variations in tar and nicotine exposure. Smokers who switch to lower 
tar and nicotine cigarettes frequently change their smoking behavior, 
which may negate potential health benefits. 
C. Accordingly, the committee recommends the following changes to 
the FTC protocol: 
1. This system should also measure and publish information on 
the range of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide yields that most 
smokers should expect from each cigarette sold in the United 
States. 
2. This information should be clearly communicated to smokers. 
3. A simple graphic representation should be provided with 
each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States and in all 
advertisements. The representation should not imply a one-to- 
one relationship between measurements and disease risk. 
4. The system must be accompanied by public education to make 
smokers aware that individual exposure depends on how the 
cigarette is smoked and that the benefits of switching to lower 
yield cigarettes are small compared with quitting. 
D. There should be Federal oversight of cigarette testing, but such testing 
should continue to be performed by the tobacco industry and at 
industry expense. 
E. The questions involved in the purpose, methodology, and utility 
of the FTC protocol are complex medical and scientific issues that 
require the ongoing involvement of Federal health agencies, 
including the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
I’. The system should be reexamined at least every 5 years to evaluate 
whether the protocol is maintaining its utility to the smoker. 
G. When a cigarette manufacturer makes significant changes in cigarette 
design that affect yields, it should notify the appropriate Federal 
agency. 
11. With regard to the second question, the committee recommends that 
to avoid confusing smokers, no smoke constituents other than tar, 
nicotine, and carbon monoxide be measured and published at the 
j)resent time. Smokers should be informed of the presence of other 
liazardous smoke constituents with each package and with all 
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