We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Becton, Dickinson and Company as of September 30, 2002 and 2001, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2002. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
    We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
    In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Becton, Dickinson and Company at September 30, 2002 and 2001, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 30, 2002, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
    As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, in fiscal year 2001 the Company changed its method of accounting for revenue recognition in accordance with guidance provided in Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements."

New York, New York
November 6, 2002