I'm talking extreme times, if factory tobacco and pipes ever faded out of existence one day, there will always be someone out there whittling and carving a pipe and stuffing it with something to smoke.
Is Pipe Smoking Fading Into History?
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These people didn't smoke pipes. Now they're all six feet under.
I think the precipitous rise of the estate pipe market is highly encouraging. Until maybe 15 years ago, this was entirely met with the icky factor. Who'd want to suck on someone's old pipe. Now, reason and reasonable sanitizing have prevailed. Those pipes have been dug out of attics and storage lockers and get passed along at tremendous savings both as smokers and as restoration projects for many.
A high school buddy of mine, a friend who used to collaborate on film making with me and also was a partner in excursions camping in Michigan and car camping from Chicago to Florida in his family's trusty Rambler American station wagon which we cranked up well past the speed limit, started with used pipes years ago.
He may not still smoke pipes, but I don't think he ever bought one new. He's retired in Hawaii now, after a long career as a designer and art director at the Chicago Board of Trade. So he still knows something about futures -- in commodities and pipes. We're still in touch. He does some wild and scary still photos of Hawaii, what you might call the dark side of paradise.
A high school buddy of mine, a friend who used to collaborate on film making with me and also was a partner in excursions camping in Michigan and car camping from Chicago to Florida in his family's trusty Rambler American station wagon which we cranked up well past the speed limit, started with used pipes years ago.
He may not still smoke pipes, but I don't think he ever bought one new. He's retired in Hawaii now, after a long career as a designer and art director at the Chicago Board of Trade. So he still knows something about futures -- in commodities and pipes. We're still in touch. He does some wild and scary still photos of Hawaii, what you might call the dark side of paradise.
I think DIY casings and toppings will probably grow in popularity as more and more jurisdictions enact blanket bans on flavored tobacco.
Thanks, I'll have to put them on my to try list.
Absolutely, the rise in the estate market is a very healthy sign. I own four full sized pipes currently and two of them are estates. Even a lot of antique stores have fully restored estate pipes. The savings are an obvious benefit but I also love the thought of owning pipes that had been at least one other person's companion until passing on to me.
I recently read an article about Harlon Ellison's pipe smoking and it noted that he always bought estates and that he was friends with one of the estate market's earliest dealers. His collection was absolutely massive because fans regularly gifted them even long after he gave up tobacco, it's fascinating to think several of his pipes probably ended up back on the estate market. Shelby Foote also had a large collection thanks to fans sending him pipes, though I'm not sure whether he preferred buying new or estate. Moral of the story: if you want a large pipe collection become a successful writer.
Well here in Italy there's not much people smoking a pipe in public, but recently a tobacconist in a supermarket in Milan told me that the consumption of pipe tobacco and cigars is increasing, so there is still hope...
I can't remember where I heard this, but on a podcast a few years ago someone commented that more people in the world now smoke cigarettes than at any other time in history. I found this hard to believe, but maybe that's because I'm an American and people in America have been shamed into smoking in secret. (I don't and won't smoke cigarettes, but I think it's awful how cigarette smokers are treated here.) Maybe cigarettes are way more popular abroad than I realize? Also, when I go to my local gas station, lots of times the cigarette shelves don't seem fully stocked. Lots of empty spaces. That leads me to believe there are still lots of smokers incognito.
I'm sure it is, but it probably won't disappear unless government forces it.
The LOTR movies/books will keep it alive, but it will not be popular. Here's why I say that:
Smoking in the US (I don't know about OCONUS) is basically banned. During work you get 10-15 minute breaks to quickly head outside and get your nicotine hit. For that cigarettes (and now vapes) reign supreme. People don't have time or patience to load up a pipe, deal with relights and tamps. And why would they?
A flip of a top, a flick of a bic, and a nic hit is delivered in 1/4 of the time.
The LOTR movies/books will keep it alive, but it will not be popular. Here's why I say that:
Smoking in the US (I don't know about OCONUS) is basically banned. During work you get 10-15 minute breaks to quickly head outside and get your nicotine hit. For that cigarettes (and now vapes) reign supreme. People don't have time or patience to load up a pipe, deal with relights and tamps. And why would they?
A flip of a top, a flick of a bic, and a nic hit is delivered in 1/4 of the time.
I think experienced pipe smokers could easily use smoke breaks catching several intermittent smokes off the same chamber full of a blend, tamping the bowl out between breaks.
I've always used breaks to walk, but that's just my habit, maybe a little hyperactivity. I smoke when I have a longer time to enjoy it.
Wow, this thread has some long legs. Thank you for all the comments and discussion. Hey, don't quit here.
I've always used breaks to walk, but that's just my habit, maybe a little hyperactivity. I smoke when I have a longer time to enjoy it.
Wow, this thread has some long legs. Thank you for all the comments and discussion. Hey, don't quit here.
I feel somewhat accused. I took a good draw and inhaled some burley/perique one night and my hands and feet started feeling numb, and I'll do a good retrohale on most relights, but it's with untopped/unflavored burleys, so I can get away with it.
Yes that's what I do as well. Or bring a small cob that's pre-loaded before I start work.
I see less cigarette and more vapers than anything, even in a shop that allows smoking.
Italy has so many pipe makers so I'm not surprised it's doing alright there. seeing people smoke in public isn't really a good indicator. I know tons of cigar smokers, yet I rarely see strangers smoke them out and about. I probably see people smoke pipes in public more often than cigars, still not very common. Pipes and cigars I think just take too long for many people to be willing to go around smoking them
There's also a lot more people alive than ever, so that might be part of it. On the other hand I know Big Tobacco has started focusing on non-Western markets to make up for their loss in sales from Europe and America. Most cigarette smokers I know are very low key about it, even closeted.
Yeah I still see cigs often but vapes far moreso. I welcome that change, cigarette smoke gives me an instant headache just walking by it so I'd much rather just smell watermelon or strawberry.
@ThermionicScott It was for me as well; I got into my clay pipes after seeing re-enactors smoking them.Pipe smoking was already fading into history when I picked it up 23 years ago. I’d be lying if I said that being a niche old-timey pursuit wasn’t at least part of the draw for me.
That's definitely a problem but Juuls were recently discontinued and cig butts are the biggest source of litter anyway
Without verified pipe and pipe tobacco sales numbers, everything is just speculation.
What’s something those that enjoy a tobacco pipe can do anywhere in the world, but also with a modicum of privacy?
Take a cruise with the window cracked and enjoy a pipe. People see it and may be curious.
Take a cruise with the window cracked and enjoy a pipe. People see it and may be curious.
