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197 The atmosphere, then, of a smoking shop is not necessarily an
inducement to excess of the habit ?-I do not think so. As a matter of fact,
it prevents excess, because a man thinks two or three times before leaving
his living quarters to go out to smoke, whereas if there were no licensed
smoking shops he would buy and take the chandu to his quarters, or his
PIJng Keng or his Coolie Keng and possibly smoke a good deal more than
when he has to go out for it.
198. You recommend the Government shops, which is part of one
of our references. Would you say that under the existing system there was
any actual pushing of sales? The temptation may be there, but have you
heard of any suggestion of pushing sales by the present retailers ?-I have
never heard of it.
199. Then may I ask you just to say what is the feature that would
appeal to you about running Government shops, as opposed to private
shops ?- (IJ) That it would do away with the misconception that by having
:>utsiders running shops there is a pushing of sales, and (b) Greater control
over the destruction of chandu dross.
200 You consider the use of chandu dross to be much more noxious,
I presume, than chandu itself ?-A great deal more.
201. Dr. GIJl/owIJy.-Do you think that there is much swallowing of
chandu dross ?-I do not know about that, but there is a considerable COllsumption
of chandu dross retailed clandestinely.
202. ChIJinnIJn.-It would be quite impossible, I suppose, to get from
every customer of a retail shop the dross equivalent to his last purchase
before you sold him any more ?-Practically, I think it would be impossible.
But I think that if you had a Government shop under strict supervision you
would get back more chandu dross than you get now.
203. Would you give bonuses for the return of chandu dross or not?­
I do not think so. I think it would give rise to abuses.
204. I was thinking, of course, of something in the nature of those
soap coupons and such-like things. Could you have any system like that in
order to induce the people to bring back their full residue ?-That question is
put to me without notice, but my first feeling on hearing your question is that
it would not attain the object aimed at.
205. Have you yourself, in coming in contact with an enormous
number of Chinese, noticed any marked inferiority, mental or physical, of the
opium smoker as compared with the. non-smoker ?-Only in very exceptional
cases wh",re the man has become an opium sot, on the same lines as one hears
of the habitual drunkard at home.
206 The sot would, relatively, even compared with the total number of
smokers, be very infrequent ?-I have come across them very exceptionally.
207. And you have seen thousands and thousands of Chinese ?-I
would not like to say how many. ..
208. Would" you call this a purely China-born habit, and is it practically
confined to male adults or not ?-It is not purely China-born. There are a
certain number of Straits-born Chinese who smoke opium. Smoking is not
absolutely confined to males; I have known a certain number of females
Straits-born and otherwise, who smoked chandu. '
209. Non-adults ?-I do not remember ever seeing a case.
210. Mr. Jelf.-Of what social standing were the females ?-I could
instance two Chinese ladies in Singapore; I could also instance a certain
number of lower class women.
2II. ChIJ;muJn.-Would the Chinese women acquire it from preparing
the smoke for their male relatives or not?-That I cannot say. There is now
no preparation, so far as I am aware, of chandu in the chandu smoking rooms