ABSTRACT
During the Second World War the tobacco industry was brought under very strict government control, though this was achieved largely by indirect means. Complete dependence on overseas sources of leaf made some form of regulation inevitable, and the Board of Trade therefore appointed a Tobacco Controller, who before the War had been a leading leaf merchant and was thoroughly knowledgeable of the industry's needs. The Controller was advised by two bodies representing both sides of the industry: these were the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Advisory Committee (T.A.C.) and the Tobacco Distributors’ Advisory Committee (T.D.A.C.); in practice, however, the T.A.C. covered all aspects of the trade and the T.D.A.C. met only infrequently. Leaf was imported by the Imperial Tobacco Company for the Board of Trade and distributed through leaf pools operated by the T.A.C. And by this means each manufacturer's production was rationed. At no time was consumer rationing or price control imposed, because the government's general policy was to allow sufficient production to meet demand; a somewhat artificial balance, however, because demand was checked by rises in the duty. Moreover, it was still necessary for manufacturers to operate their own rationing schemes to ensure that available supplies were distributed as fairly as possible.
