Recall of Philip Morris Cigarettes, May 1995-March 1996
On May 26, 1995, Philip Morris U.S.A. * announced a voluntary recall of 36 cigarette product lines (approximately 8 billion cigarettes) because, during production, the company detected unusual tastes and peculiar odors and identified methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in the cigarette filters. During June 6-8, 1995, public health officials in Minnesota, Oregon, and Texas requested CDC's assistance in investigating consumer health complaints associated with smoking Philip Morris cigarettes near the time of the recall. This report summarizes CDC's ongoing investigation, which suggests that prolonged cigarette smoking caused most of the health complaints; in addition, the investigation has not identified a distinguishing chemical characteristic of the recalled cigarettes.