“Phil, you promised you’d explain exactly how this freebase nicotine helps our business,” Morris said to his friend and business partner Phil after lunch in the company’s huge cafeteria.
“That I did,” Phil said. “That I did.” He carefully stacked all of the paper plates and cups and stepped over to the nearest trash disposal. Then he pulled a fountain pen out of his shirt pocket and began to draw boxes and circles on a paper napkin. “Pay close attention, okay?”
“Sure, boss.” Morris leaned over to see what Phil was drawing.
“Look,” Phil said, stabbing his pen towards a small circle on the napkin. “Let’s say this is nicotine.” Then he drew a much larger circle around the first one. “This is freebase nicotine.”
“It makes nicotine bigger?”
“Sort of. We don’t have to use as much nicotine when it’s freebase.”
“Why?”
“Because the hit from nicotine is more direct, faster, when it’s freebase.”
“How do we make it freebase?” Morris leaned back. “Wait a minute,” he said. “I know how we make freebase nicotine. I saw it on a company tour last month. We mix ammonia with the nicotine.”
“You’re close,” Phil said, “and nobody can stop us because we use ammonia in so many ways. It’s one of the most common household chemicals.”
“How does it work?”
“Well, Morris. Ammonia acts like a little speed performance machine. When it reacts with nicotine, the two chemicals combine in the smoke of cigarettes, and it zooms into the lungs at breakneck speeds. Faster delivery, faster results, faster return to get more.”
“Oh. That’s what we did with Marlboro cigarettes, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. And we were able to deliver nicotine in a much more healthful way.”
“How is that?”
“Well, the freebase version of nicotine gives a bigger hit fast, so you don’t have to deliver as much tobacco to satisfy the addiction. Can I trust you with a little secret?”
“Sure, boss! You trust me with everything, remember?”
“The secret is that a person who has never smoked a single cigarette, never, can be hooked on our cigarettes after just one cigarette. Even after just one puff.”
“Wow!” Morris said, rubbing his hands on his face. “Just think. We were the first ones to do it.”
“Almost. We’ve been using freebase nicotine since the 1960s and are still adapting new technology so we can adjust the process to our advantage. But most tobacco companies have caught on by now.”
“And it’s still legal?” Morris asked, his eyes widening.
“No way they can stop it, really,” Phil said. “I think they’re starting to measure it and who knows what legislation will come up.”
“Give me some numbers. I want to nail this down,” Morris said.
“Okay. We were able to load 10 to 20 times as much freebase in our cigarettes as our competition. Our sales took off. Marlboro became a world leader in tobacco sales.”
“Wait a minute,” Morris said. “Don’t tell me any more. I want to know what we’ve got that’s new, that will sweep the market the way our freebase nicotine did when we started using it. We have to keep ahead of the competition, you know.”
“Here’s one little toy we’ll be selling soon,” Phil said. He pulled a printed folder out of his pocket and smoothed it open on the table. This is the Accord. No second-hand smoke. Quite the device.”
“Wow,” Morris said. “Tell me about it.”
“Later, Morris. Later.”
–brought to you by Griffith Publishing
