J. Slade et al., NICOTINE AND ADDICTION - THE BROWN-AND-WILLIAMSON DOCUMENTS, JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, 274(3), 1995, pp. 225-233
Objective.-To learn how nicotine has been regarded by a major tobacco
company.Data Sources.-Documents from Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp
oration (B&W), the British American Tobacco Company (BAT), and other t
obacco interests provided by an anonymous source, obtained from Congre
ss, and received from the private papers of a former BAT officer. Stud
y Selection.-All available materials, including confidential reports r
egarding research and internal memoranda exchanged between tobacco ind
ustry lawyers. Conclusions.-During a period of 22 years (1962 to 1984)
, employees of B&W and BAT conducted research and commented on the pha
rmacology of nicotine. They consistently regarded nicotine as the phar
macological agent that explained tobacco use, In the early part of the
period under study, officials of the companies wrote about nicotine a
ddiction explicitly. Inhalation of cigarette smoke by the consumer was
recognized throughout the period as necessary for the normal function
of a cigarette. The documents contain little indication that research
was conducted on either the taste or the flavor of nicotine, The docu
ments reveal an intention on the part of B&W and its corporate parent
to affect the function of the body with nicotine.