Fun_People Archive
24 Oct
Kind of interesting news from Philip Morris...

Content-Type: text/plain
Mime-Version: 1.0 (NeXT Mail 3.3 v118.2)
From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 96 10:22:34 -0700
To: Fun_People
Subject: Kind of interesting news from Philip Morris...

Forwarded-by: Joseph Goldstone <joseph@d2.com>

This from today's [10/23/96] CNN site:

NEW YORK (Reuter) -- A 1972 memo by a Philip Morris scientist made public  
Tuesday suggested Kool cigarettes were considered by focus groups to be the  
best "after marijuana" smoke to maintain a "high."

The memo was uncovered as part of Mississippi's lawsuit against the tobacco  
industry to recoup health care costs of the state's smokers, said Ronald  
Motley, a Charleston, S.C. lawyer assisting the state.

Motley said the document had just been received by attorneys for plaintiffs  
in the case.

Philip Morris Companies Inc. did not have an immediate comment.

The May 24, 1972, memo was written on Philip Morris U.S.A. interoffice  
stationery by Al Udow, who Motley said was a scientist at the company.

"A widely held theory holds that most people smoke for the narcotic effect  
(relaxing, sedative) that comes from the nicotine. The 'taste comes from the  
'tar' (particulate matter) delivery," the memo said.

"Although more people talk about 'taste,' it is likely that greater numbers  
smoke for the narcotic value that comes from the nicotine," the memo  
continued.

The major tobacco companies maintain that nicotine is not addictive and deny  
allegations in a growing number of lawsuits that they manipulate the level  
of nicotine to keep smokers hooked.

Udow stated in the memo that king-size Kool had the highest nicotine  
"delivery" of all king-sized cigarettes available at the time.

He said this may explain Kool's success and it suggested a "route for us to  
follow to capture some of Kool's business."

"This ties in with the information we have from focus group sessions and  
other sources that suggest that Kool is considered to be good for 'after  
marijuana' to maintain the 'high' or for mixing with marijuana, or 'instead,"  
he wrote.

Udow said that if one of the key's to Kool's success was high nicotine  
delivery or the high ratio of nicotine to tar, "we should pursue this thought  
in developing a menthol entry."

He said that while the company might not want to develop a product with high  
nicotine, it could work on a product with nicotine as high as Kool's but  
with lower tar, resulting in a high ratio.

"The lessened taste resulting from the lowered tar can be masked by high  
menthol or other flavors. Many menthol smokers say they are not looking for  
high tobacco taste anyway."

Attorneys general from 16 states have sued the tobacco industry in an effort  
to recoup Medicaid costs. The California cities of San Francisco and San  
Jose and counties including Los Angeles have also sued the industry.
prev [=] prev © 1996 Peter Langston []