BC Ministry of Health
Document 32434
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THE SMOKING & IIFALTII SITUATION
1. Let us assume that in five years' time, we are
able to market a ctRarette whose smoke is significantly less
carcinogenic and irritating as measured by animal tests.
Since the anti-smokers now adduce bio-assay results
in support of their attack on the industry, they will then
have to admit this support will be weakened.
This will be the turnin~ point in the fight and
while tremendous and different problems will remain it is a
fair basis for forward policy to assume that in a further
*en years, that is plus fifteen from now, smoking and health
as an issue will be confined to the identification of those
who are allergic, the susceptible minority.
The policita] issue ~s to surmount these crucial
five years with as little damage as possible to the industry
and with as few imposed restrictions as possible, it is
obvious that the handling of this political issue is o£ great
importance and should be contrasted carefully with the possi-
bilities of immediate profit, lJnfortunatel~, the industry is
doin~ Just the opposite as can be seen from'.the introduction
of the lO0 mm. cigarette and increasing the inhalability of
ci~arettos.
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 8 November 2000
BATCO
00290360

3. The task of the scientist is to make the assumption
come true, that is within five }'ears to produce and bio-test
at l..a~t one acceptable new cigarette with proved lower
animal irritation and carcinogenic reaction to the smoke.
4. Ne as a Group, have the means to do this, our
current knowledge suggests several promising candidates
for this nex¢ cigarette. But the query is whether we can
combine and marshall our forcc.¢ sufficiently skillfully to
attain this objective within this crucial ~erlod. But,
and this is essential, we ~ust ,Io this without dl~inishlng
too ~uch ~ur current work on product development since, we,
as a firou~, cannot afford to follow pollcics that would
adversely affect our share of the market vis-a-vis other
tobacco companies.
5. Serious thought should a]so be given to the problems
of marketing the new cigarette. That these can be overcome is
suggested hy the incident of the ~trickman filter.
Positive action is required now in three areas:
a. Company policy (para 2)
Marketing policy (para 5)
c. Scientific pollcy (paras 3 and 4)
Only the last one lies within the scope of our
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 8 November 2000
BATCO
00290361

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decisions.
7. There is some ~easure of cooperation between
different tobacco co~panies but it is too much to hope that
this can be increased to a point where there would be effective
joint action on a new cignrctto. Discussion of financial
details ~lone would stultify the project. The most we should
assume is that the present joint action, for example Harrogate
nnd Lokshcdt, continues, thus the Group must tackle this
problem alone.
a. Normal scientific procedure would be first to
work out and prove the efficacy o£ whatever prlncip1es it is
proposed to apply in the new cigarette and then tackle the
problems of manufacturing the cip, arette in a saleable ~orm,
but I submit that the urgency of the situation is such that
there is not tim~ for this. On this occasion, we must re-
verse the procedure a~d apply now all of the several possible
principles and build them into smokeable cigarettes. As
soon as one is a manufactureable and marketable reality, it
should be subjected to blo-assay investigation. The most
pro.~isin~ candidates should be pivcn priority In the test
facilities. This procedure is the only one that offers any
hope of having at least one new cigarette in five years' time.
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 8 November 2000
BATCO
00290362

9. Prlnciples that see~ posslble to incorporate in
the nc~.: cigarette arc:
a. Chemical additives to the tobacco
b. New filters
c. Modification of the tobacco, e.g. ~ore
PCL, fermentation, different cuts/inch
d. The Ariel vrinciple.
]n. h very important line of advance would seem to
be the development of the non-inhaled cigarette, but while
this probably contains the ultimate solution, it should
not, in mF opinion, be ~ivcn high priority in this first
five year programme. This is designed to fight back the
anti-smoklng lobby and must produce quick results. It is
they who have made such a parade of animal bio-~ssay results
and they will have to admit the value of a cigarette with
lower animal carcinogenic effect. The "non-inhaled" cigar-
ette would be more difficult to use in this w~y, and in
addition, its introduction to the public will he a very
delicate proceeding.
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 8 November 2000
BATCO
00290363
