WASHINGTON — Three former Philip Morris officials have declared that the tobacco company, well aware of nicotine's addictive nature, was preoccupied with manipulating the nicotine level in cigarettes to hook people on its products, according to affidavits released Monday by the Food and Drug Administration.
The statements support a growing body of similar accounts by former industry insiders that contradict the companies' public statements, and could bolster the FDA's efforts to regulate tobacco. The agency has proposed curbing teenagers' access to cigarettes and restricting advertising, saying it has authority under its drug and medical device statutes.
In one of the affidavits, Ian L. Uydess, who worked 11 years for the company before leaving in 1989, said that "nicotine levels were routinely targeted and adjusted by Philip Morris in its various products. . . . "
"Philip Morris wanted to know everything there was to know about nicotine," Uydess said. "Nicotine has always been an important consideration to Philip Morris in the design, development and manufacturing of cigarettes."
The affidavits were given to the FDA within the last several weeks as part of the agency's investigation. The FDA claims jurisdiction over cigarettes because of the addictive properties of nicotine, saying nicotine is a drug and cigarettes are drug delivery systems.
FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler said the affidavits contain "information that we believe the public should know. These documents shed light on the role of nicotine in the design and manufacture of cigarettes."
The tobacco industry is fighting the agency's moves in the courts and elsewhere.
In responding to Uydess' claims, Philip Morris issued a statement Monday saying: "We have not been given the courtesy of having the opportunity to review the affidavit, and therefore cannot comment on it." The statement also noted that "these allegations are similar to those made by others in the past."
The company added that nothing in the statements indicated "that people can't quit smoking if they want to, which is a key argument in the litigation. . . . Historically, when documents that are sensationalized in the press find their way into the courtroom, juries have failed to find them to be evidence of wrongdoing."
The affidavits contradict sworn testimony given by the chief executives of the nation's major tobacco companies before Congress in 1994. All said nicotine was not addictive, but insisted that their comments reflected their own opinions.
