3576 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Notices

revisions to the Federal Trade

Commission methodology for

determining tar, nicotine, and carbon

monoxide yields of cigarettes, and on a

proposed format for disclosing the

resulting ratings in advertising.

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade

Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)

is extending until February 4, 1998 the

deadline for filing comments on its

proposed revisions to the testing

method used to determine the tar,

nicotine, and carbon monoxide ratings

of cigarettes, and on two possible

formats for disclosure of those test

results.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shira D. Modell, Division of Advertising

Practices, Federal Trade Commission,

Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580, (202)

326–3116.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

September 9, 1997, the Commission

issued a notice proposing changes to the

methodology currently used to

determine cigarette ratings for tar,

nicotine, and carbon monoxide. See 62

FR 48,158 (Sept. 12, 1997). The

proposed methodology would produce

tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide

yields using both the current testing

parameters and more intensive smoking

conditions, thus producing a range of

potential yields for each cigarette. The

Commission requested comment on

those proposed changes to the testing

methodology, and on the feasibility of

generating the upper tier of tar, nicotine,

and carbon monoxide ratings through

mathematical formulas, rather than

actual testing on a smoking machine.

The Commission also placed on the

public record two different legends that

could be used in advertising to disclose

the ratings and sought comment on the

usefulness and feasibility of these

potential disclosure formats. Finally,

comment was requested on alternative

approaches that were considered but not

proposed by the Commission. The

deadline for submission of the requested

comments was November 17, 1997.

On October 29, 1997, the Commission

announced that, pursuant to requests

submitted by, among others, the Food

and Drug Administration and the four

largest cigarette manufacturers, it had

decided to extend the filing deadline

until January 20, 1998. See 62 FR 58,972

(Oct. 31, 1997).

The Commission has now received a

request for further extension of the filing

deadline from Prospect Associates,

which serves as the Coordinating Center

for the National Cancer Institute’s

Project ASSIST (American Stop

Smoking Intervention Study). The

Coordinating Center and the 17 states

that ASSIST funds seek this extension

so they can incorporate into their

comment newly available data relevant

to the issues raised by the Commission’s

proposal, including new data from

smoking machine tests conducted

pursuant to a methodology promulgated

by Massachusetts.

In light of the significance of the

issues addressed by the Commission’s

September 1997 proposal, the deadline

for submitting comments on that

proposal is hereby extended until

February 4, 1998.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–1650 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Revised Jurisdictional Thresholds for

Section 8 of the Clayton Act

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade

Commission announces the revised

thresholds for interlocking directorates

required by the 1900 amendment of

section 8 of the Clayton Act. Section 8

prohibits, with certain exceptions, one

person from serving as a director or

officer of two competing corporations if

two thresholds are met. Competitor

corporations are covered by section 8 if

each one has capital, surplus, and

undivided profits aggregating more than

$10,000,000, with the exception that no

corporation is covered if the competitive

sales of either corporation are less than

$1,000,000. Section 8(a)(5) requires the

Federal Trade Commission to revise

those thresholds annually, based on the

change in gross national product. The

new thresholds, which take effect

immediately, are $14,730,000 for section

8(a)(1), and $1,473,000 for section

8(a)(2)(A).

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 23, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Mongoven, Bureau of

Competition, Office of Policy and

Evaluation, (202) 326–2879.

(Authority: 15 U.S.C. 19(a)(5))

By direction of the Commission,

Commissioner Azcuenaga not participating.

Donald S. Clark,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–1648 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6750–01–M

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Report of the Tar, Nicotine, and Carbon

Monoxide of the Smoke of 1249

Varieties of Domestic Cigarettes For

the Year 1995

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Federal Trade

Commission publishes the Report of the

Tar, Nicotine, and Carbon Monoxide of

the Smoke of 1249 Varieties of Domestic

Cigarettes.

DATES: January 23, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the report are

available from the FTC’s World Wide

Web site at: http:www.ftc.gov and from

the FTC’s Public Reference Branch,

Room 130, 6th St. and Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580. (202)

326–3222.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tonya Esposito, Legal Assistant, Federal

Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer

Protection, 6th St. and Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580.

Telephone (202) 326–3247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These are

the most recent test results of the tar,

nicotine, and carbon monoxide yields of

the smoke of domestic cigarettes

reported by the FTC. This Report

contains data on 1249 varieties of

cigarettes manufactured and sold in the

United States in 1995. The Tobacco

Institute Testing Laboratory (TITL), a

private laboratory operated by the

cigarette industry, conducted the tar,

nicotine, and carbon monoxide testing

for the widely-available domestic

cigarette varieties. This testing was

conducted under the review of a

representative of the FTC through

periodic unannounced inspections.

TITL provided the results to the

respective cigarette companies. The

companies provided the data generated

by TITL regarding their own brands to

the FTC in response to compulsory

process issued by the Commission.

Cigarette smoke from generic, private

label, and not-widely-available

cigarettes was not tested by TITL, but

was tested by the cigarette companies

and the test results were provided to the

FTC in response to compulsory process.

On September 9, 1997, the

Commission issued a notice requesting

public comment on proposed revisions

to the testing method currently used to

determine the tar, nicotine and carbon

monoxide ratings of cigarettes. The

proposed methodology would require

that each cigarette variety be tested

under two different sets of smoking

conditions, rather than the single set

used under the current system. The

revised test method would produce tar,