Tobacco

Continuously strong in recent stock market sessions have been the shares of tobacco companies. Tobacco news of last week included:

Statistics. A study of the industry was issued by Moody's Investors' Service. Noting that U.S. women smoked 14,000,000,000 cigarets in 1929, or 12% of the total, the analysis concluded that the brand which wins favor among women will gain future leadership. "The consumption of cigarets," continued Moody's, "will show an estimated increase in 1930 of nearly 10% over 1929. In forecasting future trends the estimate is made that by 1939 cigaret consumption will reach the staggering total of at least 202,000,000,000 compared with 120,000,000,000 in 1929, an increase of 69.7%. . . . The people of the United States spent about $1,670,000,000 for tobacco products in 1928, and the expenditure for 1929 is estimated to have exceeded $1,750,000,000. These figures represent over 4% of our total retail expenditures and about 2% of our total money income. The per capita expenditure ... is now running at the rate of about 4-c- per day and the average annual expenditure per family is about $70."

American Tobacco. Production of Lucky Strikes in January showed an increase of 14 1/2 times the total increase registered for all brands. Cremo (Spit is a horrid word) is being produced at the rate of 1,110,000 a day. When American Tobacco's George Washington Hill took over the active management of American Cigar Co. last May only 93,000 Cremos were being made per day.

P. Lorillard Co. Old Golds are said to be paying for themselves now, and Lorillard is concentrating on this brand and the 5-c- Rocky Ford cigar (When It's Got the Stuff a Nickel's Enough). While the trend toward a few popular brands has helped Old Golds, it has hurt Lorillard's onetime large business in Turkish cigarets (Helmar, Deities, Mogul, Murad). Officials estimate that 1930 earnings will be more than the $1,336,656 of last year, which would be the first increase in five years.

Porto Rican-American Tobacco Co. El Toro cigarets are about twice the standard length, sold in packages of ten. Porto Rican-American Tobacco is said to be considering entering the U. S. market on a large scale with standard-sized El Toros in standard packages of 20. Porto Rican also makes cigars, including Portina, Ricoro and El Toro (5-c-). Sales of the latter in the U.S. were up 110% in January while total sales gained 50% according to President Louis Toro. Porto Rican also controls Congress Cigar (La Palina) and Wiatt & Bond (Blackstone, Quincy).

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