"Argue with them, if you disagree with them."
I went one better and called them on the phone. Hoosierpipeguy got it right when he said that it was not one thing that prompted their exit from the business. Certainly there aren't any other pipe tobacco companies who have quit the business recently (Dunhill Pipe Tobacco isn't a company, it is a brand owned by BAT), so to attribute the McNiel's decision to the government is highly misplaced. Social Engineering has nothing to do with it.
Mike and Mary are getting up in years and wanted to have an enjoyable retirement while they still could. They deserve that, and more. The FDA rules, sourcing tobacco and a myriad of other changes in the industry had taken a lot of the fun out of it for them, but in the end, Mike's bad back, and the fact that he was Ooompah Loompah #1 in the Wonka Tobacco factory, was probably the deciding factor.
But don't take my word for it, call them up. Mary is wonderful person. Perhaps one of the warmest, most patient, knowledgeable and gracious people in the entire industry. Eric Stokkebye comes in a close second, but he's still running a successful pipe tobacco company.
