TOBACCO FIRM ADMITS ADDICTION KNOWLEDGE

Lorillard Tobacco Co. officials in Greensboro,N.C. suggested in
confidential documents that its customers smoked because they were addicted
to nicotine and that high school students were the core of its customer
base, the News & Record of Greensboro reported Sunday.

The documents, among the 33 million papers released this year as part of
the tobacco trial in Minnesota, also show that Greensboro-based Lorillard
studied ways to elevate the delivery of nicotine and considered developing
a brand aimed at image-conscious teen-agers.

Lorillard so far has eluded the national spotlight. Experts say that may be
because of its relatively small - 9 percent - share of the U.S. cigarette
market. Lorillard makes Newport, Kent and True cigarettes.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski