JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF NICOTINE IN CIGARETTES [08/30]

Philip Morris has confirmed that the U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation concerning nicotine in cigarettes, and that subpoenas requiring information about the tobacco giant's manufacturing processes have been issued.

"The investigation may be based in part upon evidence ASH turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)," says law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

"ASH helped to provide the FBI with evidence in the form of testimony, audio tapes, and literally hundreds of documents, many relating to nicotine manipulation by Philip Morris," confirms Banzhaf.

He notes that his organization has an outstanding reward of $25,000 for anyone supplying information which leads to the conviction of current or former tobacco industry executives for cigarette-related felonies, and that the information can be turned over to ASH anonymously.

He also noted that his organization previously turned over to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to the media an audio tape by a tobacco industry executive about a high-level meeting at Philip Morris on which nicotine and nicotine monitoring was discussed.

The fact that this investigation focuses on nicotine is seen as particularly important, because most of the current law suits now pending against the tobacco industry þ including the recent successful one in Florida þ are based on the theory that the tobacco industry deliberately covered up and misrepresented what it knew about nicotine and its addictive properties.

Thus the criminal investigation could lead not only to indictments of former tobacco industry executive for falsely denying that nicotine is addictive, but also to new documents and other evidence useful in pending civil cases.

ASH - ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH 2013 H Street, NW / Washington, DC 20006 / (202) 659-4310