How Much Tobacco for USA Customs

You’ve got to love it when the powers that be make you follow imperfectly defines rules. If I were you I’d just take whatever you want to. You should be able to finesse your way out of any trouble, I can’t imagine that customs has any idea how much tobacco is smoked in a day. How long is your trip, you could just say that you smoke two a day. Now your 16 tins don’t look so unreasonable. I don’t know how much it is enforced and I would reckon it’s only in place to discourage individuals from essentially importing a cigar stores worth of tobacco. I think anything like 1lb or less would be reasonable. But alas I have never had any experience with flying internationally with tobacco. Perhaps someone else will have better advice, but I would just do it.

Are you flying or driving?

You want to bring tins into USA?

I carried 17 tins back from Malta in May and Customs didn't say a word.

I had a similar question and concern and posted about it. I went as far as to contact customs and their response is included in the thread. Basically after waiting a long time they got back to me and said to contact the particular port of entry I was flying into.
Moving Tobacco Supply From Europe to USA

I'm no TSA agent, but I've gone through customs more times than I can count. I know it's really gonna depend on who your agent is and what kinda day they are having regarding how much a hassle they could give you, but as long as you're not going back with an entire stores worth you should be fine. I've never been hassled and I used to travel with 20 cartons of smokes (5 bucks a carton in the middle east, cant beat it) two large humidors full of cigars (40ish each) and at times several tins/pouches of pipe tobacco. I believe the spirit of the law is to prevent a retailer from somehow circumventing tax laws in other countries and preventing resale. As long as it's reasonable for personal use it's fine.

Very good. Please post to let us know how it goes. Best of luck, I don't think you've anything to worry about.

I would believe that a pound or so of tobacco qualifies asa reasonable amount for personal use. But because it appears there are no hard and fast rules for pipe tobacco like there is for cigarettes, cigars and snuff, I would not assume that they can or will put two and two together. I have entered the U.S. and gone through customs hundreds of times, so I have a bit of a feel for CBP. You have a good shot of coming across an agent who looks at your passport, possibly swipes it and says, "Welcome." You also have a smaller, but not insignificant chance of running into some of the biggest jerks on Planet Earth.
While you'll probably be fine, I would not take anything you absolutely couldn't bear to part with.

If you're traveling with your spouse, you could split the tins between you.

I would take what I wanted - it's a real situation. It is reasonable. I've even brought in Cuban cigars and written on the claims form "Cuban cigars", I don't think they really care that much if it's personal use. It's not like you'll have an enormous suitcase stuffed with nothing but tobacco tins.

I sure don't advise packing 16 tins of tobacco in your carry-on. And, I bet several people on this forum who attend pipe shows regularly like I do, will agree. I quit carrying on anything more than my pipes and a single pouch of tobacco two years ago after being hauled out of line for the umpteenth time to have them thoroughly check my bag and each tin - even using one of those wand things that checks for chemicals - and twice had to wait until they brought Fido over to sniff my bag and me. At the Austin, Texas airport I had two dozen pipes packed carefully to take with me to the Las Vegas Pipe Show and was called out of line and had to open each bag and show them the contents were just smoking pipes. The TSA agent was friendly enough but said on the screen, the herd of pipes looked potentially to be small guns.
A tip that I got from a fellow pipe smoker that is helpful is to keep a couple of back issues of P&T Magazine and the NASPC Pipe Collector in your bag so that TSA agents can see that you're a hobbyist and carrying items promoted in the mags. When I was pulled out of line in Kansas City a few years ago I showed the agent a P&T Magazine as he started to go through a ton of pipes and said that I was a hobbyist getting ready to attend their KC Pipe Show. As soon as he saw the mag and heard that, he just smiled, put the pipes he'd pulled out back into the bag and told me I could move on.

Oh, yes. DO pack them in your checked luggage.

I would take what I wanted - it's a real situation. It is reasonable. I've even brought in Cuban cigars and written on the claims form "Cuban cigars", I don't think they really care that much if it's personal use. It's not like you'll have an enormous suitcase stuffed with nothing but tobacco tins.

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I'm not sure when you did this, but my understanding is they changed the law several years ago as part of our thawing of relations with Cuba to allow travelers coming back from abroad to bring back Cuban cigars. Previously, they were prohibited (unless returning from a licensed trip to Cuba) and I've seen travelers have their Cuban smokes taken from them re-entering the U.S. from Mexico. That doesn't mean, of course, that people didn't bring them in, or even have CPB folks look the other way, during that period. I don't know.

pipestud sounds authoritative on the subject. I think an amount that looks convincingly modest enough for personal use, and not sufficient to represent a serious value for re-sale is "the game." If you have a large suitcase full, or even half full of tins, it may take time discussing it with customs and/or security. This is time and added stress. You just don't want that. But an array of six or eight tins in there with your running shoes, underwear, a stack of shirts, and three new-pressed chinos (or whatever you wear traveling), I think they will wave you through to save their own time and energy.

Another thing to consider.
If you have a nice pipe lighter, I recommend leaving it at home and taking something inexpensive that you can afford to part with. TSA wanted to confiscate my nice soft flame Comoys lighter claiming that it was a torch lighter. After I objected and continued to object, the agent went and asked another agent who agreed with me that it was not a torch lighter and allowed me to carry it on board.
Close call. But, not worth leaving it up to their "opinion".

I'm a worry-wart, so what I've done with cigarettes and cigars many times when re-entering the US from Europe and Central Asia (haven't tried it with pipe tobacco yet) is just put EVERYTHING on my declaration form. That way, the worst-case scenario is that I get diverted for a few minutes and end up paying the duty I owe anyway. Beats getting the tobacco confiscated if they decide to be ornery. Long story short, it's worked like a charm a couple dozen times: I never paid duty, never got anything confiscated, and never got anything but a shrug from the CBP officers, even with "50 Cuban cigars and 10 cartons of cigarettes" written right on the form. Honesty, once again, is the best policy.