The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24


we did before the World War and
have sextupled our demand for them in the
last decade. At the same time the use OF
cigars of high grade and Of various kinds of
manufactured tobacco has decreased some
what, as smokers turn to the more conven-
modi<-ums of nicotine.
These variations are a part OF a general
revolution in the use of the soothing weed
which has made its way to all the nations
cf the earth and stirred smokers out Of the
,ut Of established custom.
Great Britain, as announced In recent
6espstches feels the upheaval most acutely.
as shown by the statements Of tobacconists
who are complaining bitterly that men are
now smoking less and that the outlook is
most discouraging. Even in London where
so much tobacco has been handled In years
past that the city has been referred TO as
he Kings Pipe, the sales of cigars are re-
rorted as dropping off heavily and the de-
1and for cigarettes as diminishing. In May
Of this year, as revealed by official research
lust made public, the tobacco consumption
in England showed a drop of 100000
pounds compared with the same period
Of last year.
The Cigar and Tobacco World of the Brit
ish metropolis refers to difference of near
y 5000, 600 pounds between the tobacco i'm
ported in May last and that which in 1919
was brought into the country in the same
month.
I'VE are loss-teers. not profteers," said a
well known West End tobacconist to rep
resentative of the Daily Mall the other day
Government taxation is hitting us too far
below the belt We don't get the profit and
were it not for shrewd buying many of us
would be obliged to close down tomorrow.
People are not buying as much now, the bet
ter class brands are suffering tremendously
end now the cheaper classes are feeling the
effect of the high prices"
Conditions such as these are all part Of
the efforts of Governments TO add to the
taxes by increasing the imposts on tobacco,
which ever since 1t has been introduced has
been regarded as a luxury, and therefore 8
favorite revenue producer. The British au-
thorities have been piling up more taxes on
the weed, and the high grade cigars espe-
cially have been much affected by that
policy
Owing to the scarcity OF bottoms impor-
tations fell off appreciably during the war,
and as tobacco of the finer qualities must be
seasoned for at least three years the supply
of leaf in Great Britain is unusually scant.
Some of the new crop tobaccos however, are
IN storage on the other side, while in this
country there are enormous allotments
owned by British dealers, which are season
ing in American warehouses built especially
for them.
America the Key of the Situation.
The United States which is the greatest
tobacco market in the world, as sixteen of
our commemorative produce the leaf in large
~ Il. H. g tkA
whole smoke situation. This has been the
case ever since Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir
John Hawkins introduced the pipe OF the
Indians and the "dryed weede" to their day
and generation. This country, with extern
sive exports of tobacco, and with heavy i'm
portations from Cuba as well, furnishes an
index of the consumption Of tobacco for the
benefit Of the moralist and the economist.
Investigation along various lines and
study of Government documents show that
rs q nation we are growing more and more
addicted to the delights of nicotine, despite
he falling off of the use of tobacco in some
~ it's forms. Since the civil war the per
capita consumption of tobacco in the United
states has increased from two and half
pounds until It is now seven pounds, ac-
cording to the official estimates. Well in
formed dealers believe that nine pounds per
capita would be a more accurate estimate.
Any one who wishes to sense whether or
not the use of tobacco is gaining in this
country need only con over the list OF his
friends and acquaintance and he will find
that the man who does not smoke is an ex-
ception. The number OF persons over Is
years Of age who use tobacco in some form
IS on the upward slope. Tobacco. a repre-
50 ntative journal of the name of which II
bears, estimates in a recent issue that of the
practically 106, 900 900 inhabitants of this
country $4,000 900 are tobacco users. Taking
the per capita figure as a basis therefore at
se-ren pounds this would mean that for
every smoker or chewer or snuffer OF the
wc-d twenty pounds year are required.
A Golden Harvest. .
T'he demand for all kinds OF American
tohacco is brisk and prices are high, and this
ir view of the fact that the crop of 1919
was smaller than the average, has brought
wealth to the growers. In the South the
lighter colored varieties are being hailed
golden glow. because Of the wealth they
bring Negro planters who only few years
ago could hardly keep their plantations GO
ing are now riding about the country in
automobiles.
The returns gathered by the Department
Of Commerce show that I'm October, 1914,
there were in the storage warehouses 110S,-
$50 959 pounds OF tobacco, as compared
with 1888 769070 OF the same period last
year. Under the pressure Of demand the
tobaccos used for cigarettes have increased
in price from an average of 9S cents in
1914 to 80 cents In 1919 while in the same
period the price Of all varieties OF cigar to-
bacco has gone up from 1876 cents a pound
on an average TO 1913 a pound.