World Pipe-Smoking Population Size

[mso489]

Five Million. Based on what? Bald guess. How would you go about making a quantitive estimate? This would have to be based on reports of annual sales of pipes and tobacco, an estimate of how many pipes and ounces of tobacco each pipe smoker averages, and a sense of whether the trend was up or down. What's your guess, and what would be needed to quantify an answer? Just a thought experiment or puzzle to test our imaginations.

 

[robcapp]

I think there about 17 pipe smokers over here, in Australia..... At least it feels that desolate to me

 

[dottiewarden]

With all the cellaring going on these days, sales rates and consumption rates would differ considerably.

 

[Chasing Embers]

According to Andy Weir, only one. :mrgreen:

 

[mso489]

...and i thought i'd get blasted for pegging the number so low ... still an interesting question. I think the number is largely people who own one to three pipes and smoke pouch or tub tobacco. The rest of us, a few hundred thousand, are specialists, and few.

 

[dottiewarden]

I've read that Germany has the highest per capita of pipe smokers. I'm sure it's dwindling as everywhere.

 

[jacks6]

I would think it would be highest in Denmark and Germany

 

[artificialme]

I don't know how about pipe smoking around you guys, but in Indonesia pipe smoker quantity is starting to grow in a good way

 

[jvnshr]

I've read that Germany has the highest per capita of pipe smokers. I'm sure it's dwindling as everywhere.

Really? I have been to Germany once, didn't see a single pipe smoker.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Wow, nobody got my joke?

 

[mikethompson]

5 million? Could be. But I've only seen one person smoking a pipe, lunting around as it were, driving home one day.
For what its worth, I have also heard Germany has the highest per capita pipe smokers, but I can't verify that.

 

[madox07]

jvnshr that's probably because only the elderly smoke pipe over there, not to mention that you are not allowed to smoke indoors over there in public places. So yeah ... but judging by the way their tobacco shops are stocked, I would say that there are definitely more pipe smokers in Germany than in Romania, for example :roll:

 

[danish]

An EU study from 2010 puts Denmark in front with 17 pct occasionally smoking pipe and 8 pct daily. No other EU country exceeded 1 pct.
Eurobarometer link

 

[danish]

and this same more recent study from 2012, is perhaps more clear. The pct of smokers can be misleading in the above but in any case, Denmark is still the most pipe smoking
Out of the smokers, 12 pct in Denmark smoked pipe regularly, next is Sweden by 7 pct, Netherlands 5 pct....
Eurobarometer 2012 link click here

 

[madox07]

danish that looks like solid research to me. Appreciate you sharing the article!

 

[armonts]

I believe that Germans have always been smoking pipe, because it seems to me that during the war the soldiers even had one in their package / rations.

 

[mikethompson]

Danish, this is kind of awkward, but as you are a new member I have to let you know. Around here we usually just assume and take rumours and heresay as gospel.

 

[swilford]

I don't have an answer to the big question, but on a per capita basis Danes consume a whole lot of pipe tobacco: approx. ten to twenty times as much as Americans (which confirms the Eurobarometer data. Germany is about the same as the US per capita. The industry data is rough and unreliable, but it's a staggering difference.

 

[mso489]

I'd guess that the Danish disproportionately smoke pipes, not cigars and cigarettes, and that pumps up their numbers. It doesn't hurt that they are also the home of major pipe carvers and makers. My Dutch brother-in-law says it's because they spend so much time indoors. He's a former RYO smoker, Drum tobacco.