How has pipe smoking changed for us in a decade?

Ditto Kevin's observations. I think expanded use of the internet has really enriched the pipe smoking experience. We have access to more pipes and tobacco varieties than ever before. We have greater choices in selecting merchants. Everything is more accessible than it was back when our only resource was the local B&M. And we have more information about the whole field, from pipe issues to the tobacco leaf itself. Lastly, media like PipesMagazine.com has fostered a sharing and exchange of ideas and opinions through forums like this; and what would we do without TobaccoReviews.com?

cortezattic makes good points, but in the UK in 10 years we have seen a total ban on smoking in pubs clubs restaurants and workplaces - if they could they woould ban it in the street. A lot of well known long established British tobaccos such as Erinmore, Craven and Craven Aromatic have disappeared from supermarkets and even Dunhill has stopped manufacture under its own aegis - difficult to be optimistic - start cellaring say I!

Gerry

What Gerry says about attitudes in the UK is true in Chicago too.
I was just discussing this with my wife on Christmas Eve. At an American football game they ignite pre-game and half-time fireworks that produce acrid smoke so thick you can't see people in the stands across the field! Yet dare to light a cigarette and a group of security guards will bodily drag you out of the stands. P-C insanity.
And the media at large encourages the mis-information to which Kevin refers. A while ago I heard that last year 600,000 people died of disease related to second-hand smoke. What double-blind controlled research project made that link? Yet, when I point out that my 87 yr. old mother has lived with smokers continuously since birth, I'm accused of using anecdotal evidence! Outrageous!
But cheer up, there's hope. Remember, even James I couldn't permanently suppress the enjoyment of tobacco. God bless our plucky British brothers!

More pipes and less cigars. Much of the change has come about because of smoking restrictions. I used to go to steak houses and other restaurants and smoke cigars, and smoked pipes at home. As less places became available, less cigars were smoked. Since the Illinois smoking ban, there are no restaurants, so very few cigars get smoked. I smoke a pipe quite a bit in my car, but take few long rides where a cigar can be finished. At home, I smoke pipes quite a bit because I always did so, but few cigars, because the pipes call out for smoking more than the cigars.

You sit on a train or a station platform in London with an empty pipe in yer gob and a camera will spot you about 30 seconds before a voice comes over the PA with "passengers are reminded that they may not smoke" or similar.

The pubs are using about 10k/w of exterior heating out the back to warm up the air in the garden!

Smoking rooms at 'work' are long since a thing of a previous life and smokers huddle in groups in the pissin' rain outside. Clearly not in 'works' interest the heat the street! (Perhaps not a group of smokers - perhaps a 'PRIDE' of smokers!)

I asked my doctor if I should give up my pipe. He said "I can't tell if you will live a long time but if you give up your pipe it will seem like a bloody long time!"

Chin up 'n' chest out boys - Have a happy new year - it can only get better!!!

As much as I HATE smoking bans and the BS they use to push them, I am so happy that the cigar boom is over like Dunedain mentioned. (And I'm still predominately a cigar smoker) I tried to weed through all the negatives associated with the effects the anti-smokers have been able to perpetuate and the good news is that as smokers I think we're more educated and savvy then ever before. That means better blends and better products as the result of us demanding the most from our money and knowing exactly what we want. They can't push garbage down our throats like the "Cigar Boom" of the 90's.
I agree that the internet has brought us closer together as smokers and the information we share is accessible at the touch of a button. There has never been a better time, or a worse time to be a smoker. Hell, now I'm confused. Gonna go light up.

Don't mean to go off here but just because somebody shouts and stomps their feet the loudest doesn't mean they should get their way every time they want. Especially when they are backing their ridiculous claims with junk science. The tobacco bans are one example but the self righteous planet savers can be seen making footprints on many aspects of our everyday lives that they really should have no say in. If you don't like that the fact that fast food is fattening, don't eat it. If you think soda is bad for you, don't drink it. If you don't like alcohol, stay out of the bar. If you think Fox News is slanted, don't watch it. If you hate Rush Limbaugh, stop listening to his show. And if you don't like the smell of pipes and cigars then go somewhere that doesn't allow smoking. Stop trying to eradicate something just because maybe someday you may swing by the local tavern and God forbid have to deal with that wretched smell of smoke. Change the channel, change the radio, read a different paper, eat better food, stop drinking, slit your wrist but stop trying to control the rest of the planet because it's not up to you to do so. Since when did not liking something give you the right to ban anyone else from enjoying it. As a country we have allowed the ones with the loudest voice to continually get their way far to often even though it's not a majority consensus on the propaganda they are pushing. The old adage of the squeaky wheel gets the grease was to quiet it down, but it's about time to silence the squeaky wheels so we can finally live or lives in peace by making our own grown up decisions. I will eat a bacon double cheeseburger and have a smoke to that.

Cheer up , Prohibition was a failure and remember if it were not for tobacco we would be driving on dirt .America home of the brave and semi free .