BY RON WINSLOW
Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal

NEW YORK - Warner-Lambert Co .said it is developing a lower-alcohol version of its popular, harsh-tasting Listerine mouthwash.

The disclosure comes in the wake of news reports that a pending study from National Cancer Institute suggests users of high-alcohol mouthwashes face an increased risk of cancer of the mouth and throat. Listerine is 26.9% alcohol and the new version is expected to contain significantly less alcohol.

Joseph D. Williams, chairman and chief executive of Warner-Lambert, said the company’s development of a lower-alcohol formula is "coincidental. It’s not directed at any cancer problem." Other officials said the company will offer the reformulated version to appeal to European consumers and lure new U.S. customers.

The big Morris Plains, N.J., drug and consumer products company’s stock tumbled $3.125 to $75 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading in response to news of the study. Listerine is the leading mouthwash in the U.S., with a 30% market share last year, the company said. Domestic sales were $238 million, while sales in Europe and Japan added $42 million.

The institute said the study, which is expected to appear in a future issue of the journal Cancer Research, didn’t "firmly establish" the increased risk of cancer and said "it is premature to make recommendations about using mouthwash" based on the results.

Researchers surveyed 866 people with mouth and throat cancer and 1,249 people without the disease, and after adjusting for use of tobacco and alcohol, found a slightly increased risk of the cancers among mouthwash users, According to a summary of the findings, men who used a mouthwash with 25% or higher alcohol content had a 60% higher risk of cancer while women had a 90% higher risk than people who didn’t use mouthwash. However, the risk was seen only in people who used mouthwashes with 25% or higher alcohol content. The summary gave no indication of what kind of mouthwash any of those involved in the study used.

Mr. Williams disclosed the new formula in response to a question at a previously scheduled meeting of securities analysts. Mr. Williams said the company hadn't seen the cancer data but asserted that Listerine was safe and effective. He didn't give any other details of plans for Listerine, but after the meeting other officials said a new formula was developed when consumers in Britain and elsewhere in Europe objected to the taste of Listerine and that it was likely such a version would be marketed in the U.S. Lodewijk J. R. de Vink, executive vice president, U.S. operations, said the company will continue to market its basic

Listerine after it brings out the reformulated version.

The alcohol content is important to the product's claim for germ-killing ability, and the company touts Listerine as the only leading mouthwash with the American Dental Association seal vouching for effectiveness in controlling dental plaque and gum disease called gingivitis. But officials believe tests with a lower-alcohol product - the company wouldn't disclose the level - will prove effective enough against those problems to also win the ADA seal.

Competitors have used advertising to take aim at Listerine's sharp, bitter taste, but haven't succeeded in denting its popularity in the U.S. Indeed, Warner-Lambert's own advertising has exploited the taste as an indication of its effectiveness.

At the analysts meeting, the company told analysts it expects 2992 net to grow 15% to 16%

and signaled that Melvin R. Goodes, president and chief operating officer, will succeed Mr. Williams as chairman and chief executive in August. The earnings projection assumes sales will increase between 8% and 9%. Mr. Williams said he would ask the board at the July meeting to name Mr. Goodes, 56 years old, as his successor effective Aug. 1 and recommend Mr. de Vink, 46, to succeed Mr. Goodes. Mr. Williams is to retire August 31, but will remain a director and chairman of the board's executive committee.

DEAR Dr. Gott: I've recently read that alcohol-containing mouthwash is an unrecognized cause of poisoning in young children. Listerine is touted to have a 26.9 percent alcohol content, the highest of some 12 brands Dr. Peter Gott tested. Is anything being done to alert the public of this potential hazard?

DEAR READER: You’re right that mouthwash containing alcohol can be toxic for small children In fact, the American Association of Poison Control Centers recently reported that during the past few years, more than 10,000 children under the age 6 ingested such products.

One ounce of a high alcohol mouthwash can cause serious side effects such as seizures and brain damage, in a toddler. 

Several organizations, including the American Academy of pediatrics, have petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require child resistant packaging for all mouthwashes that contain more than 5 percent alcohol.

Thank you for writing to point out that yet another ubiquitous household substance can be a threat if it gets into the wrong hands. Incidentally, children who ingest such products should be seen by a physician.

To give you more information, I am sending you a free copy of my new Health Report "Heart Disease." Other readers who would like a copy should sent $1.25 plus a long self addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 2433, New York, NY 10163. Be sure to mention the title.