New in The Lounge: THE RESURGENCE OF PIPE SMOKING

NicoleSTGLaneLtd

Pipe smoking has been experiencing a popular resurgence in recent years. Some city the influence of hipster culture on the mainstream or a collective desire to return to an idealized view of the past. It could just be that more smokers are turning away from cigarettes and cigars towards the most fulfilling and stylish alternative. Whatever the reasons, many more people are picking up the briar for the first time now than in the last several years with so sign of slowing down. 

https://thispipelife.com/tpl-article/15/

mfresa

It is more economical and the blends taste better.  Also, the process of packing and smoking a pipe forces one to relax.  In today's world, we could use some "relax".

judandhispipe

@mfresa is right on the money about more economical. Even top shelf blends give you more bang for your tobacco dollar than cigars.

daveinlax

I work around a lot of young tobacco users and they all chew and spit or are chain cigarette smokers sometimes both. I asked a few why they don't vape and they all had a fear of "pop corn lung"
I've been active in the pipe world for over thirty years and I just don't see it. I see the hobby rapidly aging with very few new guys that stick around past the hype. I blame smoking restrictions. IMO the resurgence is RYO cigarette tobacco is sold as pipe tobacco.    

mezzoduomo

I believe the resurgence is real. But are there any facts to support the anecdotes, or just a feeling that pipe smoking is gaining momentum?

• Savinelli sales figures or export figures? 
  
• Slowdown in the number of pipe shops closing?
  
• More new pipe shops opening?
  
• Weight of tinned tobacco imported into the US?
  
• Sales figures for LONG'S Extra Absorbent pipe cleaners?
  
• Cornell & Diehl employee headcount up or down?

Any industry insiders (Tobacco Jesus, maybe?) that can give us some facts to back up the general impression that there's a resurgence?

mightytravis

Purely anecdotal: I have noticed several new faces in the last 6 months or so at my monthly pipe club meetings. Most of them say that they've picked up the hobby within the last 12 months. Some are new to the club, but not the hobby.

Travis 

mezzoduomo

@NicoleSTGLaneLtd: Any year-over-year STG numbers that you could make public?

ghostsofpompeii

I'm about to contradict comments I've made pertaining to a downward trend in pipe smoking since it's based solely on personal observations in my particular area. And although those observations remain unchanged, and I've yet to bump into a single fellow pipe smoker, it's safe to assume the world does not revolve around me. And what's happening in my little neck of the woods isn't indicative of what might be happening nationwide. So such a resurgence may in fact be occurring. Just not within my line of sight. And if so, I would attribute that in large part to the YouTube Pipe Community and internet forums like "This Pipe Life". The personable YouTube presenters and passionate on-line hobbyists have ramped-up my interest and knowledge of pipe smoking this last year and a half. Turning what was once the simple act of smoking a bowl or two of what-ever vanilla flavored OTC tobacco I could find, into a bona fide hobby. The YTPC and on-line forums became a learning experience. Common mistakes I'd been making for decades were corrected, making the smoking experience more enjoyable. Sipping replaced puffing - eliminating tongue bite. Tobacco reviews provided useful information, saving me money on impulse buys I might otherwise have made based solely on appealing tin art and a deceiving manufacture description. And I not only learned the proper care and maintenance for my pipes on YouTube videos - but they also opened up a whole new world of Estate pipe collecting with simple step-by-step sanitation and restoration techniques on orphan pipes from antique and thrift shops. Before then the mere idea of sticking a previously owned pipe into my mouth was as appealing as using your neighbor's toothbrush. So with all this information available, and personable video presenters piquing one's interest in the hobby, I can see how a resurgence in pipe smoking could be quite possible. 

Philip

Miss Nicole,

From what I saw when I was young, I'd have to say the number of pipe smokers is much lower. But if I compared it to the last ten or so years I'd say in that time frame the trend is rising. Of course it's anecdotal, but it is enough for me to notice. 

Many people might be smoking that we don't see. Confined to their basements or garages because the common attitude now is that your second hand smoke is killing everyone. You can't even smoke outside in parks in some places. Therefore I think the actual number of people is probably higher than I think. 

                     

ghostsofpompeii

@Phillip Your comment suggesting banished pipe smokers restricted to confined locations like basement or garage makes perfect sense as to why I may not be coming in direct contact with fellow pipe smokers. In the Spring, Summer & Fall I spend a good portion of my time smoking in my back yard where no one would see me. So unless I happen to be smoking on my front porch I've unwittingly made myself invisible to any fellow piper that might be living in my neighborhood.  

NicoleSTGLaneLtd

@mezzoduomo I can't make any STG Lane data public (we're a publicly traded company), but you can check out TTB pipe tobacco data (which shows the category in decline) or our annual report.

https://www.ttb.gov/statistics/16tobstats.shtml

paulwansing

I would love to see people re-discover pipe smoking because of all it encompasses.  A return to the front porch or patio, watching the sun rise or set while puffing away on a cob or briar.  Stopping and simply enjoying a pipe and some music after dinner.  Smoking for pleasure as opposed to addiction (I am a former cigarette smoker of almost 20 years, and I for one didn't enjoy smoking so much as I tried to quench a nic fit). I don't know a single pipe smoker in my community, but I smoke my pipe out front and hope one of these days I will smell the sweet aroma of pipe tobacco wafting form another house.  Happy smoking!

Lannarkgent

This is purely  anecdotal,  but the local pipe club in Grand Rapids,  Michigan is composed largely  of 25 to mid 30 something pipe smokers. There are  a couple of us 60 plus somethings , but that is it. From my personal observation,there  seems to be a desire to learn how to relax from new pipe smokers. I often  get asked by younger pipe smokers why I smoke a pipe. I tell them that there is a relaxing nature to the ritual of pipe smoking, while also noting that pipe smoking is a contemplative act. Thinking about the world at large, many of its problems seem to waft  away to oblivion within the mists of a pipe's aroma.
The younger men and women nod in agreement.

mezzoduomo

@NicoleSTGLaneLtd Thanks for the link! I spent some time on the STG website and discovered this: 

http://www.e-pages.dk/stg/6/

Very interesting and attractive STG annual report!

ghostsofpompeii

It was a result of pipe smoking on my front porch last year that I discovered a family of foxes residing in the empty wooded lot across the street from my house. Just before dusk I would sit outside (weather permitting) for an after dinner bowl. Then one day I discovered a pair of fox frolicking on my neighbors front lawn. The pair dashed out of the wooded area and were playfully chasing after one another. Within moments two smaller fox joined in on the chase. Each evening, for about a week afterwards I'd return for my after dinner smoke and the critters would appear like clockwork. Then unfortunately we then went through a rainy spell and the family moved on to another location. But until then in the 35 or 40 years I'd lived in that location I may have only seen a glimpse of a fox that entire time. A few weeks later a family of three deer emerged from that same wooded area, also just before dusk. Hard to believe that patch of wooded area could sustain so much wildlife.

Now mind you I live in Gary, Indiana ... just a block or two out of the city limits proper, in what's considered unincorporated Calumet Township ... and not in the country where a sight like this is commonplace. So to have the opportunity to share an evening smoke with a bit of wildlife is a pretty noteworthy experience.