Any way you skin the cat this hobby and the industry attached is dying. Pipe prices, tobacco prices, loss of growing area, loss of manufacturing, Government intervention, the list is long and growing.
With all due deference, I beg to differ. Never have so many different quality pipe blends been available, often at under $18 a tin. The pipe shows I regularly attend, Chicago and Columbus, are always sold out and packed with pipes from artisans across the globe and both just moved their shows to larger venues. The recent Vegas show was a resounding success. At my brick and mortar in a college town, pipe smoking is clearly on the rise and the shop has started offering three custom house blends in custom tins of its own with beautiful artwork. They all quickly sellout. My pipe club quarterly meet-ups keep growing in attendance.
As the price of quality cigars keeps rising, a tin of pipe tobacco that easily gives you 15 smokes is a deal many cigar smokers are noticing. And once the generation vaping that terrible bubble gum stuff figures it out, I see continued growth in the briar business. But, cellar wide and deep, just in case.
