Is there a tobacco shortage or a pipe boom … or both?
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Kevin Godbee - Nov 17, 2010
- 1 min read
I’m not sure what to make of this. Is the pipe smoker market growing at a pace where producers have underestimated their production?
You may have seen Mac Baren’s advertising here in September and October. They renewed for two more months of advertising and then requested their ads be pulled because they are completely sold out of 7 Seas.
There’s a perfect example of an ad campaign being the victim of its own success. Their ads will go back up when they are back in stock, hopefully in December.
Next up: Villiger 1888 tobaccos. They were going to take the "peel ad" in the upper right corner of the home page, but that’s canceled as they are out of stock.
Villiger-Stokkebye is also selling their new bulk blends like crazy because Lane can’t keep up with production of 1Q and BCA. Stokkebye has their own replacements that shops are buying like crazy.
And then there’s Dunhill tobaccos. There’s lots of questions there, and one of the main ones is concerning the availability.
Samuel Gawith can’t keep up either, and there are other tobaccos that are hard to get.
Is there a pipe boom on the horizon?
I hope so, but let me get stocked up first.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
I have not noticed it too much but I have really wanted to try the new 7 seas blends in the tins but I can’t get them anywhere.
This is why I am glad I have 13 years of tobacco stored in my closet!
Had not noticed things missing from the shelfs of the local smoke shop. As one who would receive first notices, such as the cancelling of ads due to lack of product, its nice of you to let us know early what is going to run out soon. This way we can stock up for the long cold winter awaiting the new tobacco crop to come in. Always apprecite the heads up.
I haven’t noticed it too much, outside of what I see here. I am thinking it is just a matter of the tobacco companies either make more production runs or acquire more tobacco to begin with. Some, like Gawith can’t expand because of the equipment being used. But there are others, I would think, that could expand one way or another.
The purported shortage(s) may be the unintended consequences of the success of the anti-tobacco nazis and increasingly oppressive taxation. Smokers aren’t being deterred, they’re just stocking-up big time against the possibility that increased taxes and trade prohibitions are imminent. I know I am.
I’m with cortezattic on this one. I think people are hoarding right now … at least that seems to be the trend.
But with that said; my local tobacconists (I have a couple here in Copenhagen) say that they see more new pipe smokers these days.
Well I’m going down to Rich’s ASAP. I’ma gonna cellar me some tobaccy!
I don’t kmow if there is a shortage or just poor management by the blending companies. I noticed a “slowdown” in supply at my local B&M over the past 6 months; not only with pipe tobacco but cigars as well.
The usual answer from suppliers has been that pipe and tobacco trade shows have impacted supply which I find to be astounding.
Consolidation in the market is causing back orders and with the holiday season coming on these companies are shooting themselves in the foot at every opportunity. Remember when Hershey could not deliver their candy in time for Halloween? It cost that division’s president his job.
I am as encouraged as anyone by the uptick in our hobby but find it difficult to believe that popularity has outpaced their ability to supply.
I wonder how much some of the increased buying has to do with internet rumors and smoking forum participation. Some of the posts I’ve seen almost approach a hoarding style of purchases and a hedge against future shortages, there by feeding the stock shrtages and making the cycle even more pronouced.
I am inclined to agree with cortez and mlaug, I think there is A lot of hoarding going on, I know I am.
I know that cost was a big factor in my moving from cigars to pipes. I think alot more people are doing the same. Second I think the great sites like PM.com are helping move more tobbaco. Lastly the tobacco giants are smart business people and know that supply and demand drives higher prices so since they see more tobacco being bought they can capitalize on the increase demand with higher prices if we think there supply is running low.
To me, it seems that there’s a big response to the reality of increasing
price and decreasing availability in the Pipe tobacco marketplace. People
are stocking the cellar. The figures are skewed on Pipe tobacco sales at this
time as manufacturers are producing more Pipe tobacco cuts on cigarette tobacco
blends. Yes, I keep reading that Pipe smoking is gaining momentum, as people
attempt to get more product value as they move away from cigarettes and cigars…
This is speculation, as there doesn’t seem to be much data available beyond the
bottom line for Sellers.
About 2 years ago I felt betrayed and actually angered by the outrageous actions of the public and govt. against citizens of what I thought was my country too. I starting seeing people of all ages standing in the cold behind stores and other businesses as though they were lepers/ These same people stand in small closed bathrooms and spray various products all over themselves
to the point it was hard to breath (hair spray as an example). Weeks ago our local hospital hung signs all around their property
that this was, by law, a TOBACCO FREE ZONE. This means even in a tin or pouch. (results) nurses and DR’s walking all the way,
several hundred yards, to a public street to stand in the street (no sidewalks) to smoke now that they were declared criminals.
I’ll be damed if I will yield to this abuse and so therefore I have started stocking up on tobacco in hopes of at least having supply for the balance of my life. We tried to shut down the use of spirits and found that you cannot legislate another persons likes and dislikes. I can be a smoker and a reasonable man who considers others without laws demanding it. Our freedoms are being
pooped away by dangerous people and it has to be stopped. Maybe its time to start voting if we care – really care! There is a substance far more dangerous and deadly to the american public and thats ok, because that substance is food, are we going to pass laws making fat people criminals?