Is Pipe Smoking Growing?

[blackforest]

Hey Fellas,
I'm curious, is pipe smoking growing? I'm a long time snusser, and I've noticed a lot of snussers are picking up the pipe on occasion.
Have you guys seen a lot more members come into the fold here?
I'm currently living here in South-Western China, and I've seen TONS of people smoking pipes, young as well as old. I've spent about 3 years here, and in China at least, I've seen a large growth of pipe smokers.

 

[mp31guitar]

I think the hobby is growing.

 

[spartan]

Is Pepe Le Pew a Rapist?

yes

 

[baronsamedi]

PePe was acquitted by a jury of his peers! Leave him alone! :rofl:
I agree though that our hobby is growing.
Oh, yeah, welcome Blackforest. If you hadn't noticed most of us are smart-asses.

 

[hawk60ce]

yes i believe it is. i always take an extra pipe with me when i go to a friends house for a get together and someone always wants to try my extra pipe

 

[J. Mayo]

I would say so. I've had several friends pick up the hobby in recent years. I used to have the idea that only old men smoked a pipe when I was younger but in my experience I think it's more popular among the younger generation these days.

 

[blackforest]

I'm glad to see more traditional forms of tobacco taking over the cigarette market. I just hope we do not get attacked by the anti-tobacco groups when we start to replace a large amount of the cigarette smoking population. I've been using snus for years now, and have seen the rise of snus as well as nasal snuff (both old forms of tobacco). I'm happy to hear that pipe smoking is also on the rise.
I'm glad to hear you guys are smart-asses, it keeps the place interesting. Dry & stuffy isn't a good atmosphere. Thanks for the welcome!
Hawk, I can't tell from the picture, but are you USAF? I'm thinking... 1A7XX? Either way, thanks for the service! I'll be heading back to the U.S in 2 weeks, and am attemping to get into OTS. If that doesn't pan out, I'll still be enlisting in the USAF on August 17th.

 

[mluyckx]

Welcome Blackforest.
I also have the impression that it's growing, but have no hard facts to prove it. Haven't been to China in a while, but I didn't see an in Singapore last time I was there. But then again, smoking is so expensive and semi-outlawed there, that it's hard to gauge.

 

[leonardw]

There has been a substantial increase in pipe tobacco consumption in China and other parts of S.E Asia over the past few years. In the U.S, the total volume of pipe tobacco is probably declining about 4-6% per year, a trend that has been in place for about a decade. The number of pipe smokers, as estimated by the CDC, has remained relatively flat, currently about 2.1 million if memory serves.

 

[bentmike]

Thanks for the input Leonard. You've probably got one of the best seats in the house as far as spotting the trends.
The last party I attended I was hanging out with a cigar guy and he says to me: Your the 5th guy I've ran into recently smoking a pipe. He said he was interested in it but was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices in the pipe world. I encouraged him to just jump in and also steered him to this site. Watching the new member list on the PM homepage is also interesting. To me it's pretty amazing how fast new members are signing on.
Welcome to the forum blackforest!

 

[leonardw]

Graphs of pipe smoking by age from the CDC

 

[papipeguy]

Thanks for the graph Leonard. How does the CDC compile their statistics? Random sampling or do they just pull them out of their butts like most; unlees they actually have reports on pounds of pipe tobacco shipped per month and go from there.

I always question numbers so please bear with me.

 

[admin]

Great, and super interesting info, Leonard. It's great to have your participation here. Thanks.
Here's an interesting, relevant article -
This Isn't Your Grandfather's Pipe

 

[leonardw]

How does the CDC compile their statistics?

A survery sample of 55,000 respondants across the U.S. If you really want to dig in, link to the survey here.
For actual volumes, you can look here BUT, the numbers for pipe tobacco include 'dual use' pipe tobacco, which makes up probably 80% of the volume.

 

[kabong30]

One of the things that I dig about this forum is the participation of folks who are "in the know" or directly affiliated with the pipe smoking and tobacco industry. Thanks, Leonard! :D

 

[radio807]

I have no overall stats, but I do know that the pipe smoking community grew by one member about two weeks ago when my oldest son took up the practice.

 

[philip]

At least the forum seems to be growing.
I have not met another pipe smoker while sailing around this summer. :crying:

 

[guitarguy86]

From my experience, I've seen maybe 4-5 different people smoking a pipe in the last couple of years. I live in California.

 

[bob1]

I believe pipe smoking is gaining ground, however, it is in small increments.

My reason for picking up the brier is purely nostalgia.

I think of pipe smoking as a reflection of a simpler less stressful time in America and I want to capture a bit of that for myself.

I avoided smoking my whole life but at 50 I have decided, in moderation, pipe smoking may actually be beneficial.
I long to see drug stores once again carry the old time pipe tobbacco blends of the past.

Here in the Northeast, they have removed it from the shelves.

 

[deleon]

Here in my hometown the number of pipe smokers has increased big time!! The tobacco shops that I go to (2) are constantly selling out of pipe tobacco and having to order more tobacco brands. Usually the orders were every 3 or 6 months, now it's almost monthly.One of the owners is attending the pipe shows for better quality pipes to purchase. The only problem I've encountered is... I never see the pipe smokers out at the tobacco stores or pubs that i got to. I'm usually just the only one smoking a pipe while everyone else is smoking cigars.