Maybe, the problem is, I'm not sure if I want it to be "popular".
Culture swings are an interesting thing. The way it was put to me is "Synthesis, Antithesis, New Synthesis."
Every cultural norm is in part rejected, the next generation will always challenge the previous, and when the dust settles you have the new norm.
For the first half of the 20th century tobacco became incredibly popular, and then after the big wars were over the generations afterward started to recoil from the lifestyle established during those times.
Now, we're finally coming full circle. "Big Tobacco" is still shunned, but enough people are looking past that to wonder what on earth got people interested in the first place if this is all supposedly totally evil, as is now commonly to promoted by "the establishment". Oh the irony.
Thus the 21st Century Pipe Boom (it may be premature to say we're in a Pipe Boom right now, but it's probably not far off).
The problem is that people like me are so totally disconnected from tobacco use that it's like walking into a pitch black room that your parents have always told you is full of monsters. You know that monsters don't exist, but fairytales usually have some sort of principle that's applicable to life.
I say that I'm not sure if I ever want this to be "popular" because, as has been the bend of conversation around here lately (and I'm glad it has taken that turn), there are downsides to smoking a pipe. I can't light up a bowl without making my mouth mildly sore, even if I just light it once and put it down. Maybe that's just me, maybe I'm the exception and not the rule, but I'm certainly not going to be the only one. This isn't like trying foreign food or going to see a new movie, the subject definitely deserves careful consideration and cautious exploration, and when it comes to things being "popular" rational thought is usually one of the first things to fall off the bandwagon.
Total prohibition is outrageous and absolutely overkill, but, as sad as it is to say from a civil liberties standpoint, I'm reasonably satisfied with the way things are at this particular point. Social pressure can easily make people do things they would not want to do otherwise. I love my pipes, but mostly from a distance.
It's going to be very interesting to see how long it takes for the pendulum to gain momentum and how far it will swing.