An Oregon scientist has found that the ammonia added to commercially made cigarettes can boost the impact of nicotine 100 times.
The study, by Dr. James F. Pankow of the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology in Portland, supports the longtime claim of the Food and Drug Administration that tobacco companies manipulate the amount of nicotine in cigarettes."It confirms what we had heard before - that ammonia is added solely for the purpose of enhancing the nicotine," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., told The Washington Post. Waxman conducted the landmark 1994 congressional hearings on tobacco regulation.
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. discounted the study, in which Pankow did a series of laboratory tests to see how ammonia affects the chemical properties of cigarettes. He did not study actual smokers.
In a statement, R.J. Reynolds said Pankow's work didn't prove that smokers actually inhaled more nicotine because of the ammonia.
Pankow acknowledged the shortcoming of his work but told The New York Times that other researchers had demonstrated that the "free" nicotine is rapidly absorbed by the body.
While people have long hypothesized that tobacco companies use ammonia to increase the impact and satisfaction of nicotine, Pankow's study is the first to suggest how much it increases it.
His research appears in the August issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
The process of heightening nicotine is called "freebasing," and is similar to the chemical process used by hard-core cocaine addicts.
Like cocaine, nicotine exists in two forms - acid and base. When ammonia is added, the nicotine is converted from acid to base form. The base form of nicotine is considered to be much more readily available to the body.
Tobacco companies have denied that they use ammonia to boost nicotine's power, and have argued instead that they use it to reduce the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, according to the Post.
Three years ago, tobacco representatives released a list of 599 substances companies add to tobacco pro-ducts - including ammonia. They described ammonia as a naturally occurring substance that dissolves in water and aids in metabolizing protein. It said nothing of the effect of boosting nicotine.
However, an internal "leaf blender's manual" used by a major tobacco company specifically refers to ammonia as an "impact booster."
The research "is an important reminder to the public that there is manipulation and control of nicotine in cigarettes," said Mitch Zeller, associate FDA commissioner. "And this is one of the ways that tobacco companies do it."
Some said the findings should affect the proposed $368.5 billion settlement between the tobacco industry and the states.
"I think the finding reinforces the need for the FDA to have full authority over all ingredients in tobacco products, especially nicotine and ammonia," said Dr. Ron Davis, a leading researcher into the health risks of tobacco at the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System.
"Regulating nicotine levels may not prevent tobacco companies from manipulating additives that determine how addicting even a small amount can be," said Jack Heningfield, formerly with the National Institute of Drug Abuse. "Dr. Pankow's data justifies a conclusion that we need to look at other factors than just controlling nicotine."
The Tobacco Institute, a tobacco industry lobbying group in Washington, did not return calls.