asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that the consumption of tobacco in the country exceeds pre-war consumption by 20 to 25 per cent., and, in view of the heavy strain on shipping which this must entail and the failure of heavy taxation and more than double prices to reduce it, he has considered cutting down imports to a reasonable extent?

Import programmes are under constant review; and I am not prepared, in present circumstances, to reduce supplies to the public below the present level.