Smoked Out

Britons of both sexes who rely on Christmas for an extra supply of cigarets were in dismay last week. Britain's Tobacco Controller A. H. Maxwell urged that tobacco and cigarets not be presented as Christmas gifts. Reason: Last year's Christmas rush caused a shortage in supplies from which Britain has not yet recovered.

Britons who get extra cigarets, food and candy from U.S. friends could not hope for much this year, either. According to British customs regulations, "unsolicited gifts, whether they include rationed foods or not, may be received from abroad by parcel post addressed to individuals: but no parcel may exceed five pounds gross weight or contain more than two pounds of any one foodstuff." Gift parcels must not be sent more often than is "reasonable" (interpreted generally as once a month). Parcels from the U.S. that don't conform to these regulations are confiscated and distributed to charity.

These conditions, though strict, insure "that those who are fortunate enough to have generous friends or relatives in the United States do not thereby gain too great an advantage over the vast majority who are not so lucky."

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