sample="rhetorical" bates="2042541940" isource="pm" decade="1990" class="ue" date="19940301 " PHILIP MORRIS STATEMENT MARCH 1, 1994 THE CHARGES MADE AGAINST THIS INDUSTRY REGARDING NICOTINE ARE LUDICROUS AND INACCURATE. NICOTINE IS A NATURALLY OCCURRING SUBSTANCE IN TOBACCO. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE PROCESSING OF TOBACCO OR THE MANUFACTURE OF CIGARETTES BY PHILIP MORRIS THAT INCREASES THE NICOTINE IN THE TOBACCO BLEND ABOVE WHAT IS FOUND NATURALLY OCCURING IN TOBACCO. IN FACT, THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS RESULTS IN LESS NICOTINE IN THE FINAL PRODUCT THAN EXISTS IN THE UNPROCESSED TOBACCO. MOREOVER, CONSUMER TASTE PREFERENCES HAVE RESULTED IN PRODUCTS WITH LOWER LEVELS OF BOTH TAR AND NICOTINE. THE OVERALL NICOTINE CONTENT IN CIGARETTES HAS IN FACT DECLINED BY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS. THOSE ARE THE FACTS. UNFORTUNATELY, FDA COMMISSIONER KESSLER, BASED ON INACCURATE INFORMATION, HAS STATED THAT UNDER FDA REGULATION, CIGARETTES AS WE KNOW THEM TODAY COULD BE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET EVEN THOUGH SUCH AN ACTION, HE SAYS, RAISES SOCIETAL ISSUES OF GREAT COMPLEXITY AND MAGNITUDE. IN OTHER WORDS, PROHIBITION. ANYBODY WHO LIVED THROUGH OR HAS STUDIED PROHIBITION IN THE UNITED STATES KNOWS THAT PROHIBITION OF AN EXISTING LEGAL PRODUCT DOES NOT WORK AND CAUSES ALL KINDS OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS FOR SOCIETY. PROHIBITION ROBS SOCIETY OF REVENUES FROM TAXES, PUTS PEOPLE OUT OF WORK AND ENCOURAGES CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. COMMISSIONER KESSLER HIMSELF RAISES THE PROTENTIAL OF CREATING BLACK MARKETS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND AS WE ALL KNOW BLACK MARKETS RESULT IN INFERIOR PRODUCTS. PROHIBITION DIDN'T WORK IN THE 1920'S, AND IT WON'T WORK IN THE 1990S.