The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1956-05-01
Abbitt Says Probe
OF Synthetic
Tobacco To Start
Believes Facts
Must BE Brought
Into Full View

Congress intends TO have look
into the mystery surrounding the
now much talked of synthetic to-
bacco processes and the extent to
which they are being used in the
manufacture of cigars and cigar
cites. Congressman Watkins M. Alb
bitt has announced,
He said the tobacco subco-
mittees of the House and Senate
Agriculture Committees will hold
joint hearings May ID Abbitt heads
the House subcommittee
Congressman Abbitt believes con-
ditions in the tobacco industry are
such that hearings are advisable to
determine how much the new pat
ented processes are being used as
substitutes for natural leaf tobacco.
Other Questions
Other questions the committees
Will seek to have answered: what
changes are likely in manufac-
turers' buying patterns in the flu
ture What changes. if. any. will be
needed in research programs What
is the consumers reaction to sub
Stitute tobacco in cigarettes
The new processes have come in
to being only recently and it is
feared that natural leaf tobacco
may face an uncertain future unless
the "homogenized" uses are deter
mined and pinpointed, Abbitt be-
lieves There now also seems to be
consumer indifference and passive
acceptance of the new processes. he
said
How il Works
Simply stated. all of these new
natural leaf substitutes arc some
what similar in that they are manu-
featured by processes which involve
the grinding or crushing of the en-
tire leaf, including stems. into min
ute particles which in turn are com
bined with some binding or cohes-
i've agent which is then through in
tricatc processes formed into thin
pliable sheets of manufactured to-
bacco having the desired width and
thickness" Abbtt said
IT would seem that the processes
involved may in their final form
be roughly compared to the pro-
ccdurcs involved in the manufac-
turc of paper and neWsprint. Infor-
nation available to me indicates
that these new developments may
be attractive to some manufac-
turers of cigars and cigarettes from
several viewpoints Of course, the
most important is that of saving in
labor and natural leaf tobacco"
Our American cigarettes are
manufactured from a blend of sew
cral types of natural leaf tobacco,
each of which is especially selected
for its quality. flavor. aroma and
burning quality One of the most eX-
penslve phases of cigarette produc-
ton is the removal of the heavy.
coarse stems and since these new
substitute processes would permit
the use of the entire tobacco leaf
this costly operation would be re-
moved
May Quiet Rumors
The substitute processes also
would appear to permit an absolute
manufacturing control of the prev
iously mentioned desirable charac-
tcristics found in natural leaf to-
bacco such as color. burning qua
hiy. flavor and aroma. 1t further
appears that these desirable fac
tors. found previously only in nat
ural leaf. may now be obtained
through these substitute manufac-
turing processes through the use of
much lower quality of natural
leaf than some manufacturers have
previously purchased for cigarette
purposes"
Abbitt further declared that ru-
mors are quite widespread in the
cigarette industry and among grow
ers that these substitute processes
are now III. use by some of the
larger cigarette companies Recent
tobacco reports he said seem to sub
Stantiate that a shift has taken
place in the buying habits of the
large manufacturers with particu-
lar interest and emphasis on the de-
sire for lower quality. less costlier
leaf tobacco
Congressman Abbltt said that he
felt that hearings are of utmost
importance" to the approximately
800. 900 farm families who make
their living through the production
OF cigarette tobacco and expressed
the hope that the forthcoming hear
ings would evolve data which would
be helpful in determining the future
course of the tobacco program.