The Nation - News from June 2, 1987

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said that 16 million cigarettes sent to Japan, found to contain herbicide levels higher than U.S. legal limits, will not be sold. Company spokesman David Fishel said in a telephone interview from his Winston-Salem, N.C., office that none of the cigarettes, a special Japanese version of Winston Lights, reached Japanese consumers, but some were used for testing and promotional marketing. Fishel said the cigarettes were tainted with dicamba, a herbicide used on corn, oats and wheats. The chemical is not approved for tobacco use because it artificially ripens tobacco leaves, making them look to be of a higher quality than they are. Fishel said the cigarettes do not pose a health problem.