Fagged Out

For weeks ravenous U.S. cigaret smokers had disconsolately puffed noninflammable cigarets with strange trade names, most of which tasted like burning lint. Now the customers straggled vainly from store to store in the futile effort to find even these brands. By last week, the U.S. cigaret shortage had turned into a famine.

"Experts" predicted that the famine would get worse, and stay that way for a year. But no one seemed able to agree on either its cause or cure. Manufacturers said there was a manpower shortage. War Manpower Commission retorted that manufacturers had made no requests for manpower, crossly added that they probably would not get it if they did. This year's cigaret production is higher than ever before, but manufacturers complained that the Government estimate--cigarets for civilians are being turned out at 90% of normal--was far too high.

OPA seemed most confused of all. Although customers in some places were buying standard brands above the ceiling price OPA brushed off the suggestion that a sizable black market might be growing up. Then OPA cracked down on the American Tobacco Co., which, it said, had sold its Lucky Strikes at over-ceiling prices to wholesalers dealing with Army & Navy agencies.

A ray of hope came from Washington. Discovering that even Capitol restaurants were out of cigarets, the Senate's Mead Committee met in a smokeless room, decided to send investigators out. And this week the Federal Trade Commission announced it also would investigate the shortage. All over the U.S. the cigaret gags were getting bitter. Sample: "Ask the man who owns one."

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