THE CHURCH AND TOBACCO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22505, 25 February 1935, Page 11

THE CHURCH AND TOBACCO

TO THE EDITOR Sir, —In your issue of January 17 an article drew attention to the growth of the habit of smoking amongst women. Unfortunately the younger generation of both sexes is only too ready to follow in their footsteps. They have also the example set to them by ministers of religion, Sunday school teachers, and other officials. Crowds of young people may be seen smoking at the beaches, lawn tennia and cricket matches. This will show how prevalent the habit is. Smokers also invade restaurants and non-smoking carriages, irrespective of the wishes of those who object to the smell of tobacco smoke. Missionary societies are finding it difficult to raise sufficient funds to supply the needs of the mission fields. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Sydney discussed this question, and one member said that if more was not done for the missionaries they should "'shut up," and added that if those who smoked used fewer cigarettes and gave the money thus saved to the missionary fund it would help considerably. The Methodists are not any Wtter, for they have been compelled to withdraw missionaries, nurses, and the only doctor from the Solomon Islands. The Rev. Amos Burnet, president of the English Methodist Conference, in 1922, said that the Methodists of England spent more on tobacco than they did on the conversion of the world, and this statement was not disputed. The editors of the Methodist Times and the Outlook have refused to publish letters on this subject. It is not surprising that with the support of the churches the gross profits of the British Imperial Tobacco Company are about £25,000,000 per annum.—l am, etc., Robert Gordon. Dunedin, February 22.