We Americans live in Pipe Tobacco Nirvana

[craiginthecorn]

My trip to Scotland has reinforced how lucky we Americans are to live in a country with relatively low tobacco taxes and regulation. Non-tobacconists, like grocery stores must hide their must hide their tobaccos from public view. I haven't seen so much as a list of available items. You have to ask. I had assumed that they just weren't selling them anymore. So far, the only pipe tobacco I've found in such establishments is Condor Ready Rubbed. Tobacconists must not display tobacco related items in their windows.
Worse, the tobacco excise taxes plus the VAT conspire to make pipe tobacco a minimum of $19.50 for 50g. Online or B&M. Doesn't matter. I paid £140 for 500g of Germain's Rich Dark Flake, which is allegedly a slightly modified version of Esoterica Stonehaven. That's the equivalent of paying $82 for an 8 oz bag of Stonehaven, which I've not paid more than $50 for at home. And that £140 price represented a modest discount!
The only upside is that there seems to be no tobacco shortages here. The Pipe Shop in Edinburgh had the full range of the Samuel Gawith, Gawith Hoggarths, Rattrays, Solani, and Robert McConnell tobaccos, and many others.
So U.S. citizens, stop complaining!

 

[jaytex1969]

We complain because the rest of the world can spend all the money they save on health care for tobacco.... :nana:

 

[seldom]

Things aren't too shabby in Germany. 50 gram tins run about 9-12 Euro for quality pipe tobacco ($10-14) including tax and the choices are very good.

 

[olkofri]

Similar shit in Canada. All tobacco products must be behind opaque surfaces, lest 'the youth get interested'. Menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars have been banned. Tobacconists' shops must have opaque glass. No smoking allowed inside the shops as they're considered 'public areas'—so, no smoking lounges or cigardens. Handing out free samples is illegal. A 50g tin is ~$50 and the selection is very limited.
Yeah, Germany was pretty good. I paid 12 Euro for Vauen tins and less for house blends. 19.25 Euro for a 100g tin of KaDeWe's #10. Cigars were reasonably priced too. Really, no advantage to buy from the duty free shops: selection is more limited than a B&M's and prices are essentially the same.

 

[paulfg]

A last some one gets how lucky the Americans are re prices LOL

 

[bnichols23]

Yeah, no joke. We've got it good & many don't know it.

 

[maduromadness]

We have it better than most but it is important to understand that we fight for our rights compared to our own standards and not any others. Not to say we are better than anyone else but rather we're supposed to control who makes the laws of the land, and only on our consent give them authority. In theory

 

[warren]

And ... we are off!

 

[jaytex1969]

...our rockers?

 

[mikethompson]

We've got it good & many don't know it.

that's what I keep telling you Bill!

 

[sablebrush52]

We have been very fortunate when it comes to tobacco prices. Even with increases, like the newly announced Sutliff increases beginning later this year, we pay relatively little for our smokes. What cracks me up are complaints over how much we pay.

 

[aldecaker]

Craig, I understand your point entirely, but the constant waiting for the other shoe to drop does tarnish the Nirvana slightly.
Maduro, taking other countries for our example is a lousy idea, I agree. We need to decide what is right for us on our own terms and in our own situation. Not much drives me nuttier than the oft-moronic twaddle of "But in Europe...", "Well, the way they do it in Canada is...", and the like. People are different, societies are different, and only the profoundly mentally incapacitated could possibly fail to grasp that concept.

 

[aldecaker]

"What cracks me up are complaints over how much we pay."
If we were comparing the price we pay to the cost of production, I could agree. But the way it is couched with no context, it sounds suspiciously like the mule who says, "I've got it good. The mule down the road gets beat twice as hard!".

 

[warren]

It's all very simple really, pay the price or quit smoking. Venting and complaining are a way of coping I suppose though if, one has nothing else more serious going on in their life.
Aldecaker, much as it pains me to agree :clap:, has it absolutely right with this quote: "I've got it good. The mule down the road gets beat twice as hard!".

 

[sablebrush52]

If we were comparing the price we pay to the cost of production, I could agree. But the way it is couched with no context, it sounds suspiciously like the mule who says, "I've got it good. The mule down the road gets beat twice as hard!".

Please explain your needed context. As far as I can tell, I made no mention of anyone else or to the future, future smokers, or any of that. I'm speaking here and now, present tense.
As for the proverbial mule, every age has its concerns. My folks dealt with the Great Depression, a World War, and a great deal of uncertainty while making their way through life. They dealt with what came their way. I still don't see the validity of the comment.

 

[jazz]

Yep, the USA is the place to be a pipe smoker, there is no doubt in my mind. I must confess the odd chuckle when I read some of the complaints.
Here in the UK, I have been watching it get worse for us in many ways in just the 6 years I have been at the pipe. You mention that there seems to be no shortage of tobacco blends and to be honest, that's not completely true. In the shop you went to they surely had a decent selection but the fact is that calibre of tobacconist is few and far between here now. This means most of us are buying through online retailers and it won't be long until those interfering bastards shut that down leaving most of us with no way of buying what we want without driving long distances and therefore driving the cost up to even more absurd levels. In the time I have been smoking a pipe I have watched as the available blends dwindle away. Not just because of the petty and endless war against tobacco and smokers but also because of a shrinking market. I used to be able to get any Mac Baren blend but any retailer I have seen only stocks about 10-15 of them now and most of those are the less interesting OTC ones. We can still get Old Dark Fired, which is something I suppose but there are so many I would like to start exploring and we just don't get them here anymore. We only get 2 or 3 of the HH line. The demise of Dunhill is a real blow to many of us in the UK because that provided some good options. We'll see what K&K do with these Robert McConnell "Heritage Blends" but we don't get many Robert McConnell blends here either anymore. Christ, we can't even get 3 nuns or Escudo anymore. It would be great to get some of your Pease and C&D over here but that really would be a bloody pipe dream.
The fact is, the future is looking very bleak for UK pipe smokers. The best place in Europe to be one does seem to be Germany and I wonder how long that will last.
And for those of you over that side of the pond who do have it so good. Don't get complacent because they are coming for you and yours and I'm almost sure that eventually, they will get the damned lot.

 

[mso489]

It's a golden age for U.S. pipe smokers, though the horizon looks somewhat dark for the future. In terms of online availability, taxes in many places (even where higher, less than in other countries), and especially in variety and quality, and creativity in blending (though the future there looks pretty doomed). I don't know the limits taking pipe tobacco home from the U.S. to another country, but I suspect that pipe smokers visiting the U.S. would do well to take along the limit when they head home. And have U.S. visitors bring some along when they visit you. No question, U.S. pipe smokers are spoiled. We're a small demographic, and you would think we'd be left alone, but we get grouped with other larger cohorts -- cigarette and cigar smokers and vapers. But comparatively, we're in the catbird seat for now. Enjoy, enjoy.

 

[brian64]

Since we are dispensing our opinions regarding government involvement with tobacco, mine is this: anything other than prohibiting sales to minors and a standard sales tax (same % as on any other legal sale) is illegitimate government activity and should be complained about.
As far as price goes, the only legitimate complaint is on % of sales tax over the standard amount (punitive tax) that also should always be complained about.
As for the more onerous situation for tobacco users in other countries, and the complaints they are expressing about it, they should have been complaining a long time ago before it got so bad.
Complaining is underrated.
IMO.

 

[jazz]

Since we are dispensing our opinions regarding government involvement with tobacco, mine is this: anything other than prohibiting sales to minors and a standard sales tax (same % as on any other legal sale) is illegitimate government activity and should be complained about.
As far as price goes, the only legitimate complaint is on % of sales tax over the standard amount (punitive tax) that also should always be complained about.

Completely agree.

As for the more onerous situation for tobacco users in other countries, and the complaints they are expressing about it, they should have been complaining a long time ago before it got so bad.

Most of us were.

 

[mso489]

Since pipe tobacco is relatively affordable and abundant in the U.S., it raises the question why U.S. pipe production is fairly limited. Perhaps because labor costs here are high, so it is more inexpensive to import pipes? We're down to a few relatively larger plants -- Missouri Meerschaum in Washington, Mo., Dr. Grabow in Sparta, N.C., and a few others, few. There is a good cohort of pipe carvers, but their production is limited by the nature of what they do. While Savinelli, Stanwell, Peterson, Nording, and similar companies churn out the vast numbers of pipes. So U.S. "has" the leaf, but Europe has the pipes. Am I missing something?