NEW YORK: Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) introduced legislation to prohibit tobacco companies from using a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cigarette testing method to market their cigarettes as "light" or "low-tar."

"Tobacco companies need to be honest with smokers about tar and nicotine exposure. It is clear tobacco companies have been gaming the FTC cigarette testing method to deceive smokers for years. Our bill would make sure tobacco companies can no longer use this system to falsely market cigarettes," said Sen. Lautenberg. Sen. Snowe said, "Over the years, smokers trying desperately to quit have been drawn to products labeled by tobacco companies as 'low tar' and 'low nicotine' as a safer alternative when in fact studies have proven that this isn't the case.

This legislation ends the pretense that smoking certain types of cigarettes reduces risk. There is no safe cigarette."In November, Sen. Lautenberg chaired a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to examine the accuracy of the FTC cigarette testing system, and the marketing claims of tobacco companies based on this system.

The New Jersey Senator uncovered a lengthy history of false and deceptive cigarette ratings and marketing methods used by the tobacco industry based on this inaccurate system. Altria (Philip Morris) and R.J. Reynolds were called to the November hearing but refused to attend.At the hearing, the FTC raised concerns about its testing methods and admitted that its ratings tend to be relatively poor predictors of tar and nicotine exposure, noting how machine-measured tar and nicotine ratings are not an accurate reflection of tar and nicotine intake.

A document released at the hearing showed that the tobacco industry had knowledge of the inaccuracy of the ratings since the 1970s.The FTC cigarette testing method uses a smoking machine -- a "smoking robot" -- that smokes every cigarette exactly the same way to determine the amount of tar and nicotine in each brand of cigarettes. According to this method, some cigarettes can appear to deliver lower tar and nicotine than regular cigarettes.

These cigarettes are usually described as "light" and "low-tar" by the tobacco industry. However, when smoked by actual smokers, light and low-tar cigarettes often cause the smoker to receive more tar and nicotine than regular cigarettes.

This is because light cigarette smokers take longer, deeper puffs and smoke more cigarettes a day to compensate for the lower nicotine in these cigarettes. Many smokers switch to cigarette brands advertised as "low tar" or "light" out of concerns for their health, believing them to be less risky or a step toward quitting.

As early as 1975, the tobacco industry knew that "light" cigarettes did not actually deliver less tar and nicotine to smokers despite the lower ratings from the FTC Cigarette Testing Method. Despite knowing this, the tobacco industry continues to market these cigarettes as healthier and safer than regular cigarettes.