ABOUT CIGARETTES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2142, 26 July 1907, Page 4

ABOUT CIGARETTES.

WHY THEY ARE CHEAP

A QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT

Much has boon said in a more or lois authoritative form as to tho deadly, or at least deleterious character, of the familiar cigarettes, some sometimes faootiously known as “coffin nails,” and some interesting scientific information was put before the House of Representatives oil Juh 17tli. Air. Arnold had asked the' Alin is ter for Publio Hoalth whotlie. representations had been made to him with regard to tlio composifcio'i of cigarettes, it being stated that a largo proportion of thoso sold in the colonv do not contain Jiure tobacco, but a foreign matter loaded wit 1 ' drugs, which is having a most detrimental effect on the health of tho youths and young men who smoko them; and, if so, whether ho will take such steps as will meet the case? The Minister’s reply was interesting Last year, he said, somewhat extensive cligmical examinations woro made of the various brands of cigarettes upon tlio market. It bail been suggested that some of them contained opium. Dr. AlcLaurin, Colonial Analyst, reports as follows: —“Owing to the interference of certain constituents (nicotine, etc) of tobacco with the ordinary tests for morphia, it was necessary to devise a special process of extracting the morphia. With this object in view, Virginian loaf tobacco was procured, known amounts of opium added, and various methods of extracting the morphia tried. With one of theso methods it iviu found that when working on loz of tobacco, one-tenth of a grain of morphia could he detected with certainty. Each brand of cigarette was then examined by this method, using loz (twenty-six to thirty cigarettes) for a test, but in no case could any trace of morphia bo detected. I have already mentioned the weight of tobacco in cigarettes, but would like to call special attention to this point, as it is important in the face of the often-repeated statement that ‘cigarettes are too cheap to contain good tol acco.’ As shown above, there are twenty-six to thirty cigarettes to the ounce, or, in other words, one packet (ton cigarettes) soiling at 6d contains about one-third of an ouiico of tobacco, worth, at the very utmost, in New Zealand 2d (8s per pound).” It would appear, therefore, concluded the Alinister, that there is no need for manufacturers to use bad tobacco, because of its lesser cost. -