What Is the Future of Pipesmoking for Younger Generations?

[mortonbriar]

I have just assumed it is on the way out, tobacco consumption in the form we have known for 400ish years...to be honest I don't think I care that much, my daughters don't need to join in me in my 'noble pursuit' and I have enough to smoke every day, plus I enjoy growing it.

 

[Waning Embers]

So will I ! (75 currently)

I'll likely be by 2030.

 

[anotherbob]

Being in my very late 20's, this is a question that many of us young pipe smokers anxiously wonder: What is the future of pipe smoking for us? I know many of you have had long fruitful lives of smoking a pipe but what does the veteran pipe smoking community think the future of pipe tobacco will be for us who have (hopefully) 30, 40, 50 more years of this lifestyle? Will it fade out entirely? Stagnate where it currently is at? Grow exponentially? I'd love to hear your reassurances or grim predictions.

frankly I think it's going to grow. It will change but I keep seeing less young people with cigs and more that are interested in trying pipes. It's something that really kind of sticks around with some big ups and downs, like since literally the first person tried it. It's something that's literally part of humanity and ironically even with people being generally a bit stupid, they're still also observant and notice things like the guy with the pipe looks like he's having fun and seems to be in pretty good shape. And if you want to help the best thing you can probably do is just be visible with the pipe.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Do hipsters even exist anymore? Ironically enough, I discovered pipe smoking from hipsters posting on tumblr circa ~2010 when they were at their peak.

One could argue any "younger" person who's still smoking a pipe in 2025 is somewhat of a hipster. If you were a regular nicotine addict, you'd prob just opt for cigarettes.

 

[Singularis]

Learn to grow your own, unfortunately

So the future is boutique/micro lenders selling on the black market or things like this forum? Not to mention all the tinned and jarred tobaccos that pass into the secondary market (again, on forums, or God forbid, Tinbids).

Predicting what will happen in 5 years’ time, let alone 10, 20, or 30 is foolishness. Lots has changed in the 8 years since I got really into the hobby, and the 26 since I first put a pipe to my lips, but many of the apocalyptic rumors and pearl clutching didn’t exactly come to fruition. That’s an appeal to wishful thinking maybe? But I’m hoping for the best.

In the meantime, cellar hard and deep.

 

[RexHiemis]

I’m 35 years old. I’ve been smoking a pipe since 2011. I also used to smoke cigarettes, but I quit many years ago; now I only smoke pipes. As a pipe smoker in Turkey, I often think about the future of pipe smoking, because here we already face serious difficulties in finding pipe tobacco.

As for the future, I think pipes and cigars will remain niche hobbies, while cigarettes will eventually fall out of use. In time, I believe tobacco companies that want to stay in business will switch to producing pipe tobacco and cigars once cigarettes disappear from the market. We will lose many blends in the process, but I think pipe tobacco will still be available.

 

[MartyA]

You bringing up dating apps and “420 friendly” reminded me of this woman I matched with on Hinge who switched to cigarettes to quit weed.

I told my dentist I started smoking pipes to quit candy.

 

[MartyA]

I can see "regulations" and such making tobacco harder to obtain and more expensive, but if someone wants to buy it, there will be people who will sell it. A decently cared for pipe will last a long time, so that shouldn't be much of a problem.
People have been smoking pipes for centuries, if not millennia, and I can't see it completely dying out in the foreseeable future.

 

[RexHiemis]

Actually, a lot of young people in my country are starting to show interest in pipe smoking. I was really amazed when I saw some of my students smoking a pipe on campus. Some of them are drawn to it through their general interest in all things retro or Tolkien (often paired with sudden tweed jackets), while others seem to view it as an alternative to cigarettes. However, since pipe tobacco is so difficult to obtain and therefore very expensive, they can’t really continue, which further discourages those who might wish to take it up.

I also hear from many people worldwide that young adults don’t want to smoke cigarettes, and instead they try other things such as cigars, pipes, and vapes. God forbid if they try weed.

 

[JOHN72]

Although that came from further back, inherited from my father, who smoked like a Siberian train. As has already been said here, fashions come and go and come back. A famous actor, elite athlete who smokes a cigar, or puts a pipe in his mouth, and then the youth want to see themselves reflected, just like previous generations. One of the most iconic images for me that I saw, was Arnold the bodybuilder, smoking that great cigar in the Predator movie. I was 15 or 16 and I too wanted to smoke in a jungle full of bugs, armed to the teeth.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Actually, a lot of young people in my country are starting to show interest in pipe smoking. I was really amazed when I saw some of my students smoking a pipe on campus. Some of them are drawn to it through their general interest in all things retro or Tolkien (often paired with sudden tweed jackets), while others seem to view it as an alternative to cigarettes. However, since pipe tobacco is so difficult to obtain and therefore very expensive, they can’t really continue, which further discourages those who might wish to take it up.

I also hear from many people worldwide that young adults don’t want to smoke cigarettes, and instead they try other things such as cigars, pipes, and vapes. God forbid if they try weed.

meanwhile Turkey , Greece and Balkan region in general have been well known for their largest number of cigarette smokers in decades

 

[greeneyes]

I took my son to the Renaissance Festival today. I hadn't been back in almost thirty years. There was a pipe shop in there, and they sold briars and tobacco (not just those Gandalf things). I suppose it was in private property or they had an exemption, but there were tons of people smoking their pipes, indoors and outdoors. Who else would a youngster learn about pipe smoking from these days, if they didn't have a father or grandfather who also smoked? I suppose that's better than being brainwashed by a YouTube influencer who gets a percentage on the sales of beard oil and EDC gadgets.

 

[ziv]

I was 15 or 16 and I too wanted to smoke in a jungle full of bugs

From someone living in tropical climate, trust me, you don't want that. :D

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

My nephew is visiting us this week from out of state. We were sitting on the patio the first evening and I was smoking a pipe and he was taking an occasional puff on his vape thing. He told me that my tobacco smelled great and asked if he could try a pipe. I was smoking Ryback +P and had a jar on the table. I had him take a sniff of the jar and he thought it smelled nice. I loaded up a clean MM Legend and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I told him not to inhale but he did anyway. No coughing, so the vape must toughen up the lungs. He wants to get off the vape and asked if pipe smoking could replace it. I told him it might work and would be healthier. Sadly, I don’t think he has the attention span to manage pipe smoking on his own. Maybe if he lived closer I could coach him. I would rather see him smoking a pipe than vaping.

 

[Gerald Boone]

A guy in Prestonsberg KY told me, while I was smoking, that he had not seen anyone smoke a pipe in 20 years ; so the landscape has changed. That said, I think pipe tobacco will continue. The fact that there are younger people wise enough to choose a pipe instead of bland cigarettes means it will continue. Are we past the golden age of pipe tobacco, probably yes.

 

[Alejo R.]

It is curious. They want to do away with tobacco. However, drugs such as cocaine, Moroccan chocolate, and heroin, enter with surreal ease.

The problem with tobacco is that it is the only addiction that no matter how high the dose, it never makes you stupid.

 

[Alejo R.]

The long tail theory has made this hobby and many others more popular in recent years than in the previous two decades and will allow it to continue. It is likely to become a hobby for small-scale artisans in both pipes and tobacco.

 

[aquadoc]

I do not know what the future holds for pipe smokers but my youngest son has joined my other 2 who are now part of our community (ages 22,25, and 26). My youngest and I have spent the last few, cool nights, relaxing on the deck with pipes and books in hand. I am not allowed to smoke anymore (health) so I only have an occasional smoke these days, but I am enjoying teaching him about my dad, pipes, good tobacco, and how to appreciate Scotch and Irish whiskey.

 

[Servant King]

Probably something like this:

 

[OverMountain]

With legislation going in the direction that it is and the W.H.O. wanting tobacco use ended by 2030, I'd say most tobacco products will be a thing of the past by 2050.

I think many of these transnational and global governance institutions have lost much of their credibility and that consumers and freedom loving people will get what they want well into the future.

The center cannot hold.