Tobacco Documents Online

DISPTJACH Henderson, North Carolina October 2, 1962 Fo{ks Ara Going To_ 5moko ealth hazards or whatever else, Ameri, cans are going', to =21M They either don't; believe claims about c~Lncer and tobacco or will b on t th j i d th e am gL e ~ a nce else are conv _ those to escape such a threat or experience. :: A few days ago, the U. S. Department of Agriculture predicted that'- people of this .country will this year spend $6.88 billirin fo.r .,eigarettes. The figure is_ slightly more than fiwe times what tobacco growers got for their erop~ in 196L If the foreCast actnally is reali¢ed, it' would be $210mildion more than ` was apent for cigarettes last year; andi corn- ~'' ' pares with $4;826;000,0W as th outlay for this luxury teni years ago. Consumer sperid- 0 ing this year for all tobacco products was estimated at $7,825,000,000, with cigars a low secon& at, $645 million. In pieces, meaning, individua,l' cigarettes„ consumption in 1962 was forecast at 497.5 billion, or about nine billion more thann last year. Increases were lakewise predicted in cigar consumption, but sUll further declines "',-in smoking and' chewing, tobacco and snuff. acceut that line of reasoning. At lieast' they •show no signs of desisting from indulgences in their favorite pastime as to relaxaticn and Exports this year of manufactured tobacco may. reach the 520 million pound mark, up some twenty rnilllion, pounds from 1961. .-. Consumers thus demonstrate their indif- ference ference to the health threat in tobacco, a threat indee& which tobacco experts say is based'l :rgely on stitistical calculations rather than scientific facts. Evidently the smokers enjoyment. For better or for worse, the trend lends itself to the benefit of' producers, han- dlers and manufacturers of'the golden weedl Our folks are going, to smoke until, more startling data is prodiuced! than has been up. to now. jD©3 ~3.7852 Freed'arn Frarm Sil'avery'To Tobacco .;There's a lot to what Henry Belk the center of social, and' cultural life ", _ said when he told! North Carolina in, Virginia and North Carolina,for~ entirely,; rehabilitation workers that North the glamour to have fadied . 4# Carolina agriculture is a slave to tobacco. Tobacco does dominate the farm picture, and not only ;Lgricul- ture but a considerable portion of the economy is bent to the demands of the golden weed. The high returns per acre. have, made tobacco production economical- ly attractive. Any farm wiW an al- lotment can derive more money from an acre of tobacco than from almost any other, crop. Except forr certain periods, tobacco ~ growing al- lows a farmer considerable freedom. He has to keep close to the job for a,few days at planting time, and a few weeks in harvesting, curing, and preparing for market. But at. other times, he can take off on, aa fishing trip, without han!ing' a herd of' cows to milk twice daily or a littler of pigs squealing their heads off morning', and evening tultil' he feeds them. Tobacco growing' does have some attractive features. As for business and professional, people investing In tobacco farms instead of processing and' manufac- turing,-there is the ancient and one might say inbred lure of'the land. The tobacco plantation was too long' And the tradition of 1and-0wnmg . holds over from the time when land 1' was the principal form of wealtli ~ and perhaps the safest of' all1 invest+~ ments. And there are those to whom to+ ~ bacco: production ie not merely- a a, livelihood, it's a way of' life.' There -. is something' about' it which geta i~ ~. into a man's system, and though ; hard' work and' poor prices . mayy ; prompt him- to declare he'll never " raise another plant, come winter, y you'll find him preparing his plant`t bed for another season. It's even;~ harder to quit raising the weed than ._ it is to quit smoking it. ;:~s:`•~ The entire Tarheel economy would._ be lietter off with greater diversifi-~3 cation, and with the tobacco situa-~ tion being what it is, with acreage,:'.: euts in prospect' to keep product'ion,_.,; in, line with, demand, North Carolinaa; farmers are going to have to di versify more. But with diversifica'48 tion, we are going to have to find~~ markets for the produce - a larger i demand or more markets for piod- s ucts we are already raising. And we ! are also going to have to find crops r for which' there is a demand which. is not now being met. Lir t .~ ,.