WOMEN'S TASTES.

Thames Star, Volume LXII, Issue 17418, 5 September 1928, Page 5

WOMEN'S TASTES.

SWEETS OR CIGARETTES? ALLEGED EXAGGERATIONS. A MANAGER INTERVIEWED; Recently a cablegram from London appeared in the Press stating that the cigarette habit among women bad broken up the powerful cocoa pool. A Southern contemporary gives the views of the manager of Cadbury’s and Fry’s on tbe matter as follows:

“The cable report regarding the effect of the cigarette habit on the cocoa, industry can Lilly be accepted as an exaggeration, and savours as a form of publicity adopted by some distributors,” he said. “Competition in the cocoa market lias been very keen recently. and the Americans made an attempt to ‘hear it,’ but without success. The higher prices ruling for cocoa beans have been instrumental in producing a period of prosperity on the Gold Coast and other cocoa growing areas, to the extent that the natives will naturally endeavour no retain the standard of living obtained, and eonsequenty old values of cocoa beans are not likely to recur.

“The cigarette and cocktail habit with the ladies has been in vogue since tiie Great War, and during this period the manufacture of chocolate has steadily increased. The maintenance of output can only he taken as an indication that ladies are still eating chocolates, although perhaps they are smoking more cigaretes than formerly. The cigarette ha hit is a passing phase and i.s reported to be on the wane already. Chocolate eating is both pleasing and ladylike, but the same cannot be said of the smoking habit, which .1 am sure, is a mere fashion. “We have no cable information of any advance in prices. It is well known that all manners of reports flood the exchanges, and that markets are influenced at times by such rumours.

“The wool-silk analogy is erroneous and misleading. The world’s production of wool is still being absorbed, despite the fact that artificial silk is established. To .suggest that because artficial silk has superseded wool in tlih manufacturing of ladies’ hosiery, cigarettes, have .supplanted chocolates, is a sufficient indication that the whole statement is an extravagance and not reliable.”