Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-08
ITHE TOBACCO TRADE IS
UNDERGOING CHANGES
Great Army of Weed Chewers of the
Country Is Growing Smaller
Year by Year.
B1G rScREAsE IN CIGARETTES
Seventy Million Pounds More OF To-
M hacco Required 10 supply the Pipe
vs. Hitters Than Decade ASy>-Dealers
.ss May ChAnge Methods.

s1 The s>Sss OF TIE internal revenue
/ department.. sicns with those II the
tobacco uar1racsursrs OF the country
bring out some very interesting facts
4 Concerning the tobacco industry. In
the past ten years the business has
undergone many changes. and the
methods. OF the manufacturers 81
sche~ing and smoking tobaccos have
been changed in numerous ways. due
tin a great measure TO the whims OF
Sthe chewers and smokers ot the weed.
I, Plug chewing tobacco is not pu; up
NOV as II was 4 dozen years ago. and
the teeeptacles for smoking tobacco
are not as they were decade ago.
q, It would seem that the chewing to-
hacoo habit Is on the wane. while the
weakness for the pipe and the ciEa-
Sfette 10 growing every year In the
year 1905 all the chewing tobacco
manufactured and sold in this country
amounted to lIs.627.s64 pounds. or
this total 156.so5.sSl pounds were OF
plug. 10,14I.6Ss pounds were OF twist
and n.ee4.lS4 pounds were Of the fine
& cut variety, making tho total OF the
weed for mastication as given above.
The production OF chewing tobacco de-
creased little by little each year after
1so5. until the total production OF all
the factories in tho country for the
year 1915 was 175.532.aS5 pounds. or
less than ten years before by 3.0a4,S6s
pounds The decrease was In plug and
nne-cut, while tho taste OF the chewers
osnsed an increase in the demand for
tho twist. which nccessitated an in
crease OF 10000 pounds in the manu-
facture OF twist in 1915, as compared
yuff ha in
WAS a decrease Of over 100000 pounds
OF hne-cut and decrease OF 6,25o,0o0
pounds of plug
INCREASE LARGE IN SMOKING
s AND IMMENSE IN CIGARETTES
= On the other hand. the consumption
Of smoking tobacco in 1915 amounted
to 334.s2I 1928 pounds. that being Co.
718,S46 pounds more than in the year
falling OF in the demand for the
granulated tobacco for use in pipes in
the year 1916 and the manufacturers
say the decrease will probably be much
greater this year than it was in 1916.
In the meantime, the consumption OF
cigarettes by the smokers Of the coun-
try has been increasing by leaps and
bounds. In the year 1905 only 3.6T3,-
I27.411 cigarettes were made and sold
+ in this country. but since that time
the increase year by year has been
phenomenal. The total for the year
.A1s15 reached 17.eSo.1l4.4s2, an increase
In a decade OF over 1i,25o,0oo,0 900 little
smokers-billions. mind you. The in
I, crease in cigarette production in 1916
over 1915 was about 5000, 600. 900
coffin nails and the manufacturers
estimate that the increase in 1917 will
~ n
: and dealers in smoking tobacco at
tribute the decrease for the past year
: and a half in the demand for pipe
! smoking tobacco TO the growing de-
rnand for the cigarette.
CHANGES COMING ABOUT FOR
ALL TOBACCO DEALERS
1t will be plain to any one who will
give a moments study 10 the above
I figures that the taste of the victims
of tho tobacco habit has been and Is
4 still undergoing a change, for II is
quite evident from these figures that,
notwithstanding the increase in the
population OF this country. the number
OF tobacco chewers is growing smaller
from year to year. while the number
of lovers of *the pipe shows marked
increase in'-ten' years, and the army
: Oh Cigarette puUeTS IL growing so
rapidly IT would require the services
OF a regiment of expert census takers
, to keep tab on them.
II this thing keeps on the tobacco
manufacturers and the dealers In the
weed will have 10 make material
changes In their business methods and
even the tobacco growers will find il
necessary to make some changes in
their ways of cultivating the weed.
Pretty much all of the bright tobacco
grown in Virginia and North Carolina
bright belts is now made into cigarettes
and smoking tobacco. and the increas-
ing demand for the hrghts will in all
likelihood drive the farmers to grow
Ing more of them and decreasing their
cultivation OF the heavier tobacco used
in the manufacture of plug chewing
It will also probably lead the men in
the dark belt to try their hands at
oultfvattng the brights to the neglect
Of long red filters and the sun-curing
types.