Pipe Smoking in New Zealand-Am I All but Alone?

[mortonbriar]

hello hello! i am here too, up in auckland. I have about 30 blends on hand at the moment, but i dont even want to talk about how much i have coughed up in tariffs!!!!

let me know if you are in auckland, i will treat you to a bowl for sure.

isaac

 

[zack24]

My wife and I will be there for a couple of weeks in May...Can you smoke on outdoor patios at restaurants or bars?

 

[fnord]

I love how three year old topics get re-born around here.
SeanZ was a swell poster and I miss him. (God bless him, he probably can't afford to smoke anymore.)
WTH happened to Australia and New Zealand? There was a time, not too long ago, when you couldn't stage an armed conflict and boyos from these two countries would show up asking for a piece of the action. (Over 500 Australians lost their precious lives in that French Indochina dustup and several of them, in fine Australian fashion, are buried where they fell.)
These days antique firearm collections are being sliced and diced by arc welders in Australia and tobacco offerings, in both countries, are sold at exorbitant prices well beyond the reach of the working man.
WTF?
When did these two lusty, brawling nations become such pussies and wimps? And how the hell did their citizenry allow this to happen?
Mods, I apologize in advance if my questions are too unseemly or political. It's just that if a country like Australia - earth broken by hard core UK criminals - caves in I won't to know how to respond or react in the United States.
Fnord

 

[elpfeife]

Very troubling indeed.

 

[mortonbriar]

ha Fnord, they are still 'lusty brawling nations' both, its just all rugby ball rather than rifle in the 21st century...
zack24: yes, you can smoke in the outdoor sections of bars and cafes, plenty of bars have semi covered sections to help with the wind and rain you will probably be hitting in May.

 

[pipesdownunder]

No idea what's happening here down under. Tobacco tax is $430 per kg. Insanity. Nzpiper, I am here across the ditch from you!!

 

[edgreen]

NZ has a long and glorious history of pipe smoking. Being on the route of the Dutch East Indies company means that there were plenty of taverns and plenty of that new import, tobacco. Unlike the US and Europe, pipe smoking caught on with males and females. If you check out the Pipes in Art thread in Pipe Talk there are paintings of Maori men and women smoking pipes.

 

[kiwiguy]

Yo I've just joined and I'm in Wellington. Looking for advice on good places to buy tobacco that have more range than the tobacconists here.

 

[aotearoa]

It appears we are few and far between I am a nomadic Pipe collector and occasional smoker but unfortunately the prices in this country are ridiculous hopefully the South African shop is still open but there have been many tax increases since that post.

 

[npod]

I have a friend who lives in NZ 6 months -1 day a year. He tells me that the even bigger problem is the Customs guys. They apparently are known to confiscate tobacco on arrival in the country. He said that 1 of 3 shipments from 4Noggins may disappear. He now orders small batches and prays they show up at his door. I feel for you nzpipper if that’s true.

 

[porcellino]

Neil -
It is totally legal to import any quantity into NZ but on anything more than a very small amount you have to pay Excise Duty.

You may not be aware that you can legally import top quality 'whole leaf American tobacco' (fully cured and essentially ready to smoke, after shredding) into New Zealand, absolutely tax(GST) and excise duty free.

It costs me around NZ$40 per pound.This is approximately 1/15th of the price of NZ store-bought tobacco. Sometimes it is sent by Customs to quarantine (MPI) and has to be 'heat treated'. This adds about $5 per pound to the cost.

The bad news is however that the Govt is likely to put an end to this loophole - under pressure from Big Tobacco.

And of course, you need to have something that will shred the whole-leaf and know just a little about casing/flavouring.

 

[derekflint]

Seek out Glue Fist......

 

[barepipe]

Your prices are even worse than ours here in Canada. Sorry nzpiper, me thinks you picked the wrong place to emigrate too.