Philip Morris pareert nicotineonderzoek
Eind augustus beschreven en becommentarieerden we hier een onderzoek dat aan zou tonen dat de tabaksfabrikanten stelselmatig in de laatste jaren het nicotinegehalte van sigaretten hadden laten oplopen. Als dat zo zou zijn, redeneerden wij, dan zou dat volgens de eigen redeneertrant van de anti-rokers alleen maar positief moeten zijn omdat daardoor de relatieve consumptie van de kankerverwekkende teer in tabak zou afnemen.
Deze week reageerde Philip Morris, (PM) waarvan onder andere het merk Marlboro bij de proeven betrokken was, in een persbericht erg scherp: de onderzoekers konden een dergelijk resultaat nooit hebben gevonden uit de gegevens die ze nota bene van PM zélf hadden gekregen. Met eigen meetgegevens toont PM in het bericht aan dat er weliswaar sprake is van schommelingen in de nicotineniveau’s gedurende de jaren, maar dat er geen sprake is van een oplopende trend.
De methode van meten (via machines) deugt dus niet, zegt PM. En dat zeggen zij niet alleen….
Philip Morris USA analysis of the nicotine yield data on Marlboro for 1997 through 2005 indicates that there are variations in the nicotine yield for different Marlboro packings, both up and down from year-to-year, but there is no general trend up or down.
We have created a chart (http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/downloads/about_us/pressroom/general/pdf/Marlboro_Volume_Weighted_Avg_Nicotine.pdf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)) that provides two lines for averaged nicotine yield of Marlboro cigarettes. The top line shows the simple linear average nicotine yields for the full nine years that Philip Morris USA reported data to the MDPH calculated for the 18 Marlboro packings reported every year (1997 – 2005). The bottom line shows the 1997 – 2005 nicotine yields for the Marlboro brand family based on a sales weighted average, which most closely parallels purchases by adult smokers in the United States.
The sales weighted average line shows the average nicotine yield for the Marlboro brand went from 1.85 in 1997 to 1.76 milligrams per cigarette in 2005, a 0.09 milligram decrease. The simple linear average line shows that the average nicotine yield for the Marlboro brand went from 1.86 in 1997 to 1.90 milligrams per cigarette in 2005, a 0.04 milligram increase.
When the data from the entire time period from 1997 – 2005 are considered, using either a simple linear average calculation or a more relevant sales weighted average calculation, you see annual variations up or down each year, but no general trend up or down. These year-to-year variations in nicotine occur as part of the normal processes of growing tobacco and manufacturing cigarettes.
To further illustrate the lack of any general trend change for the Marlboro brand family, we point out that of the 18 Marlboro brand packings tested in both 1997 and in 2005, the nicotine yields of three are lower, eight are higher and seven are the same.
We have created another chart (http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/downloads/about_us/pressroom/general/pdf/nicotine_yield_of_two_best_selling_marlboro_brand_packings.pdf (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)) which provides the nicotine yield of the two best selling Marlboro brand packings. Marlboro King Size Box and Marlboro Lights King Size Box account for about half of Marlboro brand sales. Each of these packings had a change from 1997 to 2005 of 0.03 milligrams — one an increase and one a decrease.
Machine Smoking Test Methods:
The MDPH report links the nicotine measured by a smoking machine to nicotine “actually delivered to the smoker’s lungs”. Other public health authorities have said one should not link machine smoking to actual human smoking. For example, the World Health Organization Study Group on Tobacco Regulation concluded that “Machine testing protocols are not likely to provide a valid basis for predicting health effects or for making claims about health effects because such protocols do not predict how the products will be used by individuals or at the population level.” The MDPH itself states on its website that “Because of the difference in individual smoking patterns, no number is truly representative of the amount of nicotine any smoker will receive from a cigarette.”
Additional information concerning tar and nicotine yields is available on our company website. http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/product_facts/tar_nicotine/tar_nicotine_landing.asp (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
Dr. Michael Siegel toont op zijn blog haarscherp aan hoe de onderzoekers de indruk konden vestigen van een stijging van het percentage: ze lieten de cruciale lage jaren 1997 en 2005 weg uit het onderzoek. De bekende techniek van cherry-picking die vaak door anti-tabaksonderzoekers wordt toegepast.
