The nodal point was gone, and a certain subtle reduction had taken place.

The reductions will take place across the board, the executives said, with no specific target date or number set.

A rapid reduction took place from 1900 to 1920, especially between 1913 and 1919, when weekly hours fell by about eight percent.

Such extreme reductions take a very long time to achieve.

It was possible that employees would have to wait for up to three paychecks to see the reduction take place.

Other estimates suggest that the reduction would be smaller, and take longer.

Several business leaders asked when the next reduction would take place, and there were calls for new Government spending programs to stimulate faster growth.

About half of those reductions have already taken place, and bank officials said that additional charges may be necessary as the process continues.

But such a reduction, if it happens at all, will take a long time to have a real impact on cigarette revenues.

When does the Minister expect that reduction to take place?