FDA Begins Unannounced Inspections of Pipe Makers

[woodsroad]

Not true, litup.

While inspections of pipe makers may be a new thing for them, the FDA inspects a wide range of businesses every day. They do not have free reign. There are well-defined limits. Jeff didn't even have to let them in. He could have rescheduled for a time that was more convenient to him, when he could have some representation to help him.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Too many visions of Gestapo operations. True, my "knowledge" of same is only from movies and TV and some reading, but.... 1984 is still getting closer.

 

[warren]

No one was dragged out, summarily dispatched or sent to a camp. I don't see the gestapo parallel. Those guys were just doing what we pay them to do. Well, those of us paying Federal taxes.

 

[woodsroad]

"Gestapo" is way out of line. This was a sensationalized account of an FDA inspection that was not handled well at all by the permit holder. I see nowhere in the account where the FDA inspectors engaged in any behavior that wasn't polite and within the bounds of their portfolio.
Now, whether or not the FDA should be regulating chunks of wood is another question altogether.

 

[hawky454]

I think the reason why the inspectors were there for 6 and a half hours is they found a new interest in pipe making. I bet they were thinking, “wait, wait... how much did you say your pipes sell for? To hell with this job, let’s go make some pipes!!” Lol.

 

[hawky454]

I just saw that Rick Newcombe, one of my personal heroes is in the house! Wow! If nothing else I’m glad to see this brought out some of the big players in the community to join in on the discussion. I still have to go back and read all of it, but still, perdy cool.

 

[zack24]

whether or not the FDA should be regulating chunks of wood is another question altogether.

The Federal government will absolutely regulate chunks of wood. A few years ago, Gibson Guitar in Nashville was raided by Fish & Wildlife Service for a violation of the Lacey Act because they dared to import rosewood to make fingerboards instead of having the fingerboards manufactured overseas and shipped in. It cost them a $300,000 fine and almost $2 million in legal fees. There are some interesting links to the stories, but they are all REALLY political, and this thread would explode if I posted one...

 

[woodsroad]

Zack, I am familiar with that case. Sheer rediculosity.

 

[brian64]

Sheer rediculosity.

Just doing what we pay them to do I guess. After all, there may not be any real jobs available for them, and we wouldn't want them out on the street homeless.
We are apparently, and ultimately, an Idiocracy after all.

 

[jpmcwjr]

No one was dragged out, summarily dispatched or sent to a camp. I don't see the gestapo parallel.

Well, O.K., too dramatic. Except that gestapo tactics start with an unannounced "visit" and a "request" for an inspection. Yeah, OK, too much.

 

[olkofri]

Just doing what we pay them to do I guess. After all, there may not be any real jobs available for them, and we wouldn't want them out on the street homeless.
We are apparently, and ultimately, an Idiocracy after all.

Yeah, they're like Bobby Hill: "not very employable. No skills, bad attitude, seventh-grade education. But we can try".

 

[datascalabash]

Dear Fellow Pipefans:
Data's Calabash here...I KNEW that, eventually, the slide down "the listing sloppy sloop's deck" would begin towards August 8, 2021...
...a set of links that one might want to consider checking out as we "get nearer to that dreaded date" would be:
...the one for the Native American Rights Fund, representing the ONE key American minority ethnicity that should, and by all accounts will, resist any and all FDA efforts on controlling their pipemaking activities (for the substantial number of tribes that have tobacco traditions)...
...for an archived ThinkProgress article that illustrates HOW dedicated some Indigenous American ethnicities are to their tobacco-based traditions...
...and here at PipesMagazine, an article for a very good background of how far back (into North American prehistory) the tobacco use traditions of Indigenous Americans and First Nations in Canada exist.
Even one Wikipedia page that apparently covers "World No Tobacco Day" (which can and WILL never happen, due to Indigenous North Americans' adherence to their traditions concerning tobacco) has as its "concluding" paragraph entitled "Potential for Indigenous American opposition", which I made certain to add over a year ago, confirmed with the usual varieties of Wikipedia citations in the code for that page, from at least one of the aforementioned links in this post.
I'm sincerely planning on making some of my OWN large-sized briar, olive-wood and morta-wood pipes over the coming years, solely for my own use. I've developed my own woodworking skills over some four decades' worth of scratchbuilding-style RC Scale aeromodeling construction with a variety of woods (not just balsa, but Douglas fir, basswood, spruce and maple just for starters) and working with plastics, fiberglass, aluminum and stainless steel to craft radio-control scale and sport model aircraft for my own enjoyment, with many handcrafting skills that cross-over nicely into pipemaking for my own needs - I've already started to do this with scratch-made pipe-stem replacements as long ago as the 1980s, so I'm sort-of "on my way" to doing it all-the-way.
Thank you and Yours Sincerely,

Data's Calabash

 

[craiginthecorn]

Jeff Gracik shared some info about the visit via Instagram. Here’s a link..

 

[olkofri]

This just about sums it up for those still thinking the gov't is well-meaning:

... [so that they] can inspect how you do it to be sure it complies with guidelines that have yet to be identified [da fuq?!]. They don’t know much about pipes and don’t really know why they’re sending people to see us besides that it’s required now. [Ibid.]

(Emphasis mine.)

 

[craiginthecorn]

I suggest that folks read the entire post. Jeff's comments are pretty charitable, actually. Of course, if I were him, I'd be careful about what I said publicly about it. It is for that reason I linked the post rather than attempting to paraphrase or partially quote. I expect that he would prefer that his comments be viewed in full context. An added bonus is that you get to see the FDA pipe

 

[olkofri]

Oh, yes, I did read the whole thing. I reckon he's trying to make the best out of a bad situation. I understand that he may be worried antagonising the powers that be for fear of them closing him down. Unfortunately, justifying wrongdoers doesn't help, it only compounds the problem.
I'm glad I'm not in his shoes. Although, very soon most of us will be, in one way or another. I'm a business owner too, and I know that.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Olkifri, I didn't mean to suggest that you hadn't read the whole thing. I just want others to base their conclusions on the whole thread and not just a bit of it. My impression of his comments is different from yours, but I can understand your conclusions too.

 

[ron123]

No one was dragged out, summarily dispatched or sent to a camp. I don't see the gestapo parallel. Those guys were just doing what we pay them to do. Well, those of us paying Federal taxes.

Was CNN parked outside Jeff's home?
IBTL

 

[craiginthecorn]

Was CNN parked outside Jeff's home?

Hahahahaha.... :rofl:

 

[brian64]

Was CNN parked outside Jeff's home?

I'm sure they would have been if they could have figured out a way to turn it into a racial issue.