from this source now amounts to ever 2 billion dollars annually. The Inter- 
nal Revenue Service of the United States Treasury Department, which adminis- 
ters the tax legislation, classifies products in the manufacturing industry 
for taxation purposes as follows: (1) Cigars, (2) cigarettes, and (3) manu- 
factured tobacco, which includes chewing (plug, twist, fine-cut, and scrap), 
smoking, and snuff. 
In addition to the Federal tax, 49 of the 50 States impose taxes on one 
or more products, and revenue from such taxes now totals about two billion 
dollars yearly. Further taxes are levied on tobacco products by some city 
governments. 
History records that tobacco was used by the American Indians in each of 
the three ways in which it is used today, and changes in usage through the 
years relate to the comparative popularity of these three forms. While con- 
sumer habits are not subject to sudden change, in the long-time sense there 
have been marked shifts in forms of use. The general direction has been from 
"strong'' tobacco to "mild," from cigars to cigarettes, from chewing to pipe 
smoking, and from dark heavy-bodied types to lighter types. Changes in pat- 
terns of consumption usually entail shifts in the types of tobacco used in 
manufacture, and consequently shifts in the production of those types. 
Blending. One of the most complex and important features of the manufac- 
ture of tobacco products is the blending of the leaves of different classes, 
types, grades, and qualities. All quality elements cannot be equally develop- 
ed in the same leaf; for instance, some may be highly aromatic but have poor 
burning qualities, and some may be too heavy-bodied or strong unless mixed 
with lighter and milder leaf. Therefore, combinations are obtained which tone 
down elements which are overdeveloped, or strengthen those which are under- 
developed. In other words, types or grades of tobacco leaf used are selected 
for quality factors that complement each other in the blend. 
Not only do blends combine different types of tobacco, but of a given 
type, they usually contain leaf from two or more years' crops, because the 
characteristics of tobacco crops vary from year to year. The effect of these 
differences is lessened, and the stability of the blend is maintained, by com 
bining tobacco from different crops. 
THE CIGARETTE INDUSTRY 
The cigarette industry is by far the most important part of tobacco manu- 
facturing, both in use of the leaf and in volume of sales. Its extraordinary 
development during the present century presents one of the most phenomenal as- 
pects of tobacco history. This has been due to two principal factors--the 
perfection of the modern highly efficient cigarette machine and the develop- 
ment of the blended type of cigarette. The manufacturing of cigarettes is so 
highly automated that the cost of producing a pack of cigarettes (excluding 
tobacco material) is estimated at about 1 cent per pack. 
The industry has always been dominated by a few concerns. Today about 99 
percent of the cigarettes manufactured in the United States are produced by 
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