When Superior Court Judge Charles W. McCoy ruled last week that a jury’s $3 billion verdict against Philip Morris was excessive, he was quick to point out that he was not negating or trivializing the jury’s conclusion that the behavior of the tobacco company was “reprehensible.” The judge wrote: “The record fully supports findings that Philip Morris knew by the late 1950s and early 1960s that the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive, that substances in cigarette tar cause lung cancer, and that no substantial medical or scientific doubt existed on these crucial facts.” But the company and the Industry overall failed to communicate the facts about smoking and health to the public-indeed, they actively misrepresented them.

One critical fact essential for an “informed” decision about smoking is “dose” — that is, how much one has to smoke to incur smoking-related health risks.? Yet the tobacco industry has never defined what they believe a “safe” or “acceptable” level of smoking is.? The alcohol industry, at least, has encouraged consumers to use their products “in moderation,” although to their discredit they have never defined “moderation” in any quantitative way.

So we are left to turn to cigarette advertisements for insights as to what the Industry thinks is, on average, an acceptable number of cigarettes to smoke on a daily basis.

In its new Virginia Slims promotion, smokers are offered a catalog full of home and wardrobe fashions that brags: “Every page shimmers with inspiring insights and practical information . . . not to mention all the goodies you need.”? Smokers with proof of age can order “free” leather jackets, gold-plated chains, goblets and napkin rings, coffee makers, and other glitzy items. Of course, to get your “stuff” you need to send in UPCs as proof of purchase of Virginia Slims. And there are limits: you have exactly six months to gather those UPC’s and place your order-and you can order no more than two of each of the l6 items on the list, or a maximum of 32 items in total.

So how many cigarettes would you have to buy-and would you presumably smoke-within these six months to get all the stash you were eligible to claim?

If you went to the limit and bought two of each item, you would need to purchase 22 packs of Virginia Slims each day.? If you were more modest in your consumption and purchased just one of each, you would only need to purchase 11 packs daily. If you were even more restrained and only wanted to spiff up your table setting with the coordinated plates, napkin rings, salad bowl, and salt and pepper shakers-you would need about 2.5 packs a day, If you just bought ONE item-the black leather jacket-you would need l.5 packs daily.

Thus, it appears that a “normal,” “acceptable” smoking consumption pattern, as perceived by Philip Morris, is somewhere between 1.5 packs and 22 packs per day, or in terms of a count of individual cigarettes, 30 to 440 cigarettes daily.

The Virginia Slims Catalog carries the Surgeon General’s warning “Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.”? Should not the cigarette manufacturer itself be responsible for communicating a more life-saving factoid: that regularly smoking more 4 cigarettes per day noticeably increases the risk of disease, and that, among other manifestations of health devastation, smoking 20 cigarettes a day increases the lifetime risk of lung cancer by 1,000% over that of a “never smoker”?

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