Altria Says Nicotine Not Sole Cause of Addiction

The nicotine in cigarettes is habit-forming but is not the sole cause of addiction, a tobacco company executive argued during testimony in the government’s $280-billion suit against cigarette makers.

“At this point, [company executives] are not prepared to say it is the only thing that makes it addictive,” said Steven Parrish, senior vice president of corporate affairs of Altria Group Inc., parent of Philip Morris USA.

U.S. public health officials concluded decades ago that smoking leads to lung cancer and other serious diseases.

Altria and some other tobacco companies now concede the health effect. But Parrish argued that although Philip Morris executives believed nicotine is a drug, they did not agree that it is the only cause of addiction.