News release: “The Federal Trade Commission has rescinded guidance issued in 1966 that generally permitted statements concerning tar and nicotine yields if they were based on the Cambridge Filter Method, sometimes called the FTC method. As a result, advertisers should no longer use terms suggesting the FTC’s endorsement or approval of any specific test method. The Cambridge Filter Method is a machine-based test method that “smokes” cigarettes according to a standard protocol. At the time the FTC issued its guidance, most public health officials believed that reducing the amount of “tar” produced by a cigarette could reduce a smoker’s risk of lung cancer. The Commission believed that giving consumers uniform, standardized information about tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes would help them make informed decisions about the cigarettes they smoked.”