Post by judyb on Jul 13, 2004 11:21:38 GMT -5
from "Civil Warriors" by Dan Zegart
Page 174, regarding "tweaking " nicotine
In working to interpret reams of technical info, given by the
Tobacco industry a former
VP for research and development at Brown and Williamson
was used as 'navigator' in the Spring of 1994 explaining how tobacco
plants were bred for nicotine content, the uses of additives and, most important -
how to heighten the "impact" of nicotine with ammonia compounds,
the state of the art in tweaking nicotine.
"The beauty of ammonia was it didn't increase the amount of nicotine in the tobacco.
Adding ammonia compounds changed the nicotine from a "bound" to a "free" state,
making the drug more readily available to the brain. The increased potency of the cigarette would be felt by
the smoker, but wouldn't register on the machines that measured tar and nicotine levels.
It was exactly like the difference between powdered cocaine and crack, a way to get a
stronger high from a smaller amount of dope. One very important ammonia compound, was diammonium
phosphate, or "DAP".
…..The FDA staff had toured Park 500, "a Philip Morris reconstituted tobacco factory south of
Richmond, Virigina. According to the FDA staff, there were
"hundreds of pipes running into enourmous tanks and presses. Philip Morris wanted to show the FDA
that it wasn't spiking cigarettes….."
"Out on the factory floor was one old banged up looking pipe….it was wrapped in bright yellow tape
and stuck out like a sore thumb. On the tape was printed 'DAP'
Upon asking was 'DAP' stood for, the FDA official was told "One of the flavors we add".
Actually, DAP was one of the secrets of Philip Morris's success.
Research stated that "ammonia was probably the major reason Marlboro was such a dominant
product. Simply put, you just got a better hit from a Marlboro."
Lawyers for ABC TV also grasped the importance of the Park 500, and were interested
in anyone who could tell them more about it. One source called In late March 1995
and two lawyers met with this informant, code named W.
W had maintained testing and measurement equipment at
Philip Morris during the late eighties. W told the lawyers he was
surprised the ABC News Program Day One hadn't mentioned Park 500, since he "knew that
Philip mMorris created the facility to assure that its cigarettes would
provide smokers a consistent high." W hmself wasn't particularly
thrilled about being around nicotine. After a few hours of breathing
fumes from nicotine-rich vats at one company lab, "he sometimes
would have to find a bathroom and throw up."
"the employees are highly segregated, with few employees
knowing more than just their immediate area of concern," W said.
Most significantly, W reported that Philip Morris used a Hewlett-
Packard machine he called the "5880" to test tobacco extract at
fifteen-minute intervals for nicotine and other substances, which
im plied that nicotine levels were, in fact, carefully set.
"W told us that he thought the Philip Morris employees were
good churchgoing people' but that the company was responsible for killing people," the
lawyers reported.
Page 174, regarding "tweaking " nicotine
In working to interpret reams of technical info, given by the
Tobacco industry a former
VP for research and development at Brown and Williamson
was used as 'navigator' in the Spring of 1994 explaining how tobacco
plants were bred for nicotine content, the uses of additives and, most important -
how to heighten the "impact" of nicotine with ammonia compounds,
the state of the art in tweaking nicotine.
"The beauty of ammonia was it didn't increase the amount of nicotine in the tobacco.
Adding ammonia compounds changed the nicotine from a "bound" to a "free" state,
making the drug more readily available to the brain. The increased potency of the cigarette would be felt by
the smoker, but wouldn't register on the machines that measured tar and nicotine levels.
It was exactly like the difference between powdered cocaine and crack, a way to get a
stronger high from a smaller amount of dope. One very important ammonia compound, was diammonium
phosphate, or "DAP".
…..The FDA staff had toured Park 500, "a Philip Morris reconstituted tobacco factory south of
Richmond, Virigina. According to the FDA staff, there were
"hundreds of pipes running into enourmous tanks and presses. Philip Morris wanted to show the FDA
that it wasn't spiking cigarettes….."
"Out on the factory floor was one old banged up looking pipe….it was wrapped in bright yellow tape
and stuck out like a sore thumb. On the tape was printed 'DAP'
Upon asking was 'DAP' stood for, the FDA official was told "One of the flavors we add".
Actually, DAP was one of the secrets of Philip Morris's success.
Research stated that "ammonia was probably the major reason Marlboro was such a dominant
product. Simply put, you just got a better hit from a Marlboro."
Lawyers for ABC TV also grasped the importance of the Park 500, and were interested
in anyone who could tell them more about it. One source called In late March 1995
and two lawyers met with this informant, code named W.
W had maintained testing and measurement equipment at
Philip Morris during the late eighties. W told the lawyers he was
surprised the ABC News Program Day One hadn't mentioned Park 500, since he "knew that
Philip mMorris created the facility to assure that its cigarettes would
provide smokers a consistent high." W hmself wasn't particularly
thrilled about being around nicotine. After a few hours of breathing
fumes from nicotine-rich vats at one company lab, "he sometimes
would have to find a bathroom and throw up."
"the employees are highly segregated, with few employees
knowing more than just their immediate area of concern," W said.
Most significantly, W reported that Philip Morris used a Hewlett-
Packard machine he called the "5880" to test tobacco extract at
fifteen-minute intervals for nicotine and other substances, which
im plied that nicotine levels were, in fact, carefully set.
"W told us that he thought the Philip Morris employees were
good churchgoing people' but that the company was responsible for killing people," the
lawyers reported.
