Tobacco On A Plane

I've never had an issue with it and I carry a lot and fly often.

There is a HUGE difference in the looks and smell of a bag of pot vs tobacco.
The TSA agent would have to be a complete and total ... oh, never mind. :wink:

I actually asked the TSA at the local airport about this very subject not too long ago. It's supposed to be totally fine when traveling within the country. That said, there can be issues traveling abroad with larger amounts of tobacco if you have more than what is considered a "personal consumption" type amount and the standards differ depending on where you go. Apparently the "personal consumption" question/situation comes up a lot in regard to cheese of all things and not so much with tobacco.
Canadian Cheese Smugglers - not flying mind you, but they've caused a stir:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-19751695

So thats how Kim of North Korea gets all that Swiss cheese! On a serious note I have had a few under powered in the brain department TSA chaps ask me whats in the tobacco pouched and one really clever fellow wanted to know if Condor was made in Cuba. Outside of these exciting diversions I have never really experienced any real issues in regard to travel in the US of A with pipe tobacco.

I'm with the majority here. I fly often, and have never had the slightest trouble with pipes, tobaccos, paraphernalia. What you have to watch out for is the knowledgeable TSA agent who will use some flimsy pretext to impound your Bo Nordh rotation and your tins of Balkan Sobranie #759.
As for bringing in tobacco from overseas, I think the average customs guy is not going to know the rules, given how rare pipe tobacco is these days. But it's my understanding that the official allotment is actually very generous (maybe four pounds?). If you're traveling abroad and want to bring back much tobacco, though, it would pay you to track down the official answer. Although I'd add it's been many, many years since anyone at customs showed the slightest interest in looking through my luggage.

Just be careful if you try to put rocks in your luggage, ha ha. When I come back from the Tucson Gem Shows with 15 pounds of rough Australian opal in my checked luggage, my bag came off the conveyor with yellow tape all over the thing like it's radioactive. It had been searched at every layover, with all sorts of tags on my stones, saying that they were "ok." Ha ha. People actually gave me a wide berth when they saw me claim my bags with yellow tape all over them. I just smiled and told everyone, "It's ok, it's just rocks, everyone!" It was weird.

Jguss, I have no intention of being rude or harsh, but I don't find your statements to be accurate... :|
As far as domestic flights inside the U.S. there should be no issue carrying pipes or tobacco in a carry on. There simply isn't anything preventing you from doing so; so having to watch out for "a knowledgeable TSA agent who will use some flimsy pretext..." shouldn't even be worried about. It simply isn't going to happen over pipes and tobacco. Lighters, however, are actually subject to forfeiture rules but often slip by with no problems because the TSA sometimes doesn't know the rules.
It should be stated that you never actually deal with customs if you are flying domestically. You only deal with customs if you are flying internationally.
Regular TSA agents are the ones that don't know all the rules and regulations. Customs agents... Those people are a different breed and agency. In the event that they don't know something they look it up on the spot and you don't move. They are the watchdogs of their country; the very first line of defense against items and people coming off of an international flight. They check everything and they know their shit. They don't screw around when it comes to their jobs because it's a big deal. I'm not sure where you're traveling that your finding customs agents that don't know the rules? In my experience that would be like finding a unicorn. I've found that dealing with customs is the most stressful part of flying outside of the country even if you aren't bringing anything irregular with you. If you made it through customs and they didn't even bring up... Say, the amount of tobacco you had with you, it's because they knew it wasn't a significant amount. Not because they didn't know the rules.
As far as an "official allotment" goes, as I said, it differs depending on where you go. It isn't a safe idea to assume that it's a generous amount. You're right though, that's definitely something that has to be looked into if leaving the country.
I hope that helps.

I fly regularly and low and behold my brother is TSA. You might recognize him as the one who gave Peter Mayhew his lightsaber cane back (he let the wookiee win). Flying with pipes and tobacco is never a concern of mine, I have found that Most TSA agents wont even question me about my tobacco pouches contents. My lighters however are a different story, occasionally some TSA agents are unfamiliar with the rules and will confiscate any lighters that they happen to notice. As for being pulled aside, this has only occurred on a few occasions and never because of any pipes or tobacco.