Michael A. Farriss
Philip Morris USA
Senior Vice President
Communications & Government Affairs
P.O. Box 26603
Richmond, VA 23261-6603

March 28, 2006

Dear Mr. Shannon:

Thank you for your letter of February 27, 2006 to Altria Group, Inc.'s Chairman, Mr. Louis Camilleri, encouraging Philip Morris USA (PM USA) to begin producing and selling only cigarettes that meet a certain reduced ignition propensity standard. I am responding to your letter on behalf of PM USA.

You suggested that, given the enactment of reduced cigarette ignition propensity (RCIP) legislation in New York, Vermont, and California, cigarettes that meet the standard of the laws and regulations of those states should be made available to everyone in the United States at the same time the California RCIP requirement becomes effective (January 1, 2007).

PMUSA supports enactment of a uniform, national standard for RCIP that would preempt all state and local RCIP regulations, requirements or prohibitions in the field of cigarette ignition propensity - thereby resulting in one standard applicable to all cigarettes sold in the United States, regardless of the size or location of the manufacturer. Federal legislation would also eliminate the possibility of a patchwork of inconsistent and conflicting state regulations that would be an undue burden on interstate commerce, and would lessen the opportunity for adult smokers to obtain non-compliant cigarettes. Any such federal RCIP standard should not increase the well-established health risks of smoking, bearing in mind that all cigarettes cause diseases in smokers, whether they are reduced ignition propensity cigarettes or not. It also should not affect the commercial acceptability of the cigarette to adult smokers.

More specifically, PM USA supports federal RCIP legislation that establishes a performance standard that is equivalent to the performance standard adopted in New York, Vermont and California; designates the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as responsible for implementation and enforcement; and preempts state and local RCIP regulations, requirements or prohibitions in the field of cigarette ignition propensity. At the federal level, the CPSC has been developing expertise on cigarette ignition propensity for many years and should be designated by Congress as the agency mandated to implement a national standard. It already has the expertise to perform the scientific work necessary to successfully implement a RCIP standard nationwide.

It is important to note, as you have recognized previously, that it is common knowledge that anything that burns, if handled carelessly, can cause a fire. There is no "fire-safe" cigarette. RCIP cigarettes should be handled and disposed of properly, just like any cigarette. Therefore, we were concerned to read the press release of March 16, 2006 from the Coalition for Fire Safe Cigarettes, of which NFPA is the coordinating group, where it refers to reduced ignition propensity cigarettes as "fire-safe" and makes no mention of the common-sense notion that anything that burns should be handled and disposed of carefully. Smokers should not think that a reduced ignition propensity cigarette is "fire-safe" and therefore handle it with less care.

In recognition of NFPA's leadership in advocating the establishment of a uniform RCIP standard, I urge you to join PM USA and use your influence to persuade Congress to enact a national RCIP standard that is equivalent to the New York standard and preempts state and local RCIP standards. I would also ask you to use your influence to persuade other tobacco product manufacturers, as well as other public safety, public health, and fire service organizations, to support such legislation. This would ensure the quickest, most effective implementation of a standard that would govern all manufacturers that sell cigarette products in the United States.

If you would like to discuss these issues further, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Farriss

Mr. Shannon's reply to Philip Morris USA (4/4/06).

Dear Mr. Farriss:

Thank you for your response to my letter urging Philip Morris to take a leadership position to enhance public safety by announcing that the company will produce and sell only fire-safe cigarettes in the United States. I am disappointed you have declined to do so.

While I appreciate your reply, I wanted to address some key points in your letter. I agree that to move forward on this issue, there must be a consistent cigarette fire safety standard. As well, the cigarettes that meet the standard should not increase the well-established health risks of smoking and must be acceptable to adult consumers. A standard that meets these criteria exists. Nearly two decades of independent research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Harvard School of Public Health, NFPA, and many others addressed all the effectiveness and side-effect questions relevant to the test standard - ASTM E2187, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes - and the New York State requirement is based on that test standard. As other states propose and enact legislation, they are following the New York lead, which will promote the type of consistency that we all feel is essential, avoiding a patchwork of state standards. In fact, one of the goals of our newly formed Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes is to work to ensure there is just one standard.

Research that has been done to date on the New York experience shows no change in consumer purchasing habits, indicating their acceptance of fire-safe cigarettes. Equally if not more important, initial data indicate a substantial reduction in cigarette-ignited fires.

We are all aware there is no such thing as a cigarette that will totally eliminate fires. NFPA and the Coalition are careful to provide additional information in its materials and website further explaining that a fire-safe cigarette has a reduced propensity to burn when left unattended. The notion that smokers will be less careful with cigarettes because they presume them to be fire-safe is insulting to your customers.

With 700 to 900 people dying, many of whom are not the smokers, and many more severely injured in cigarette-ignited fires each year, states are not waiting for a federal standard, nor should they. Given the amount of time a federal standard would take and the tobacco industry's unwillingness to make this change without a mandate, our best opportunity to make the next big leap forward in fire protection and continue the progress to save lives is state by state action.

Quite simply, a standard has been developed and it is working. There is no need to withhold this lifesaving technology from every American.

I urge you to reconsider this issue. Your company can save lives by deciding to produce and sell only this type of cigarette and joining with the Coalition to say, "The time is now."

Sincerely,
James M. Shannon
President and CEO
NFPA