Pipe Tobacco Hype or Extinct

Hiker007

I am new to smoking pipes and I am really enjoying it. However, I keep hearing about new regulations and shortages of pipe tobacco. Is this all hype? Do I have anything to worry about? Have I entered into a hobby that is soon to be extinct?

Simple

I hear ya. Newb here too.

I asked the same question at a local shop and got into an excellent conversation with a gentleman (who is easily in his 90's) that told me pipe smoking has been around for thousands of years. In his time he saw attempted tobacco regulations (taxes mostly) come and go and never worried. But, he noted, since people are no longer willing to stand up to the regulators they deserve to lose what they love.

I didn't expect that to come from an employee or owner of a tobacco shop but I agree 100%.

dbh1950

Hiker007,

As to pipe smoking being extinct, there is legislation that may have an impact, I have yet to find a clear explanation. I sign a petition to my Senators, one responded, the other did not. The response I dud receive was ckear as mud. One point was to do with tge current vaping and young persons, nothing about pipes or pipe tobacco. Perhaps STG could respond to this query. By the way, welcome, I have been a pipe smoker since 1975, it has been one hobby I always felt a level of achievement with, can't say the same about fly fishing. 

PappyJoe

The only tobaccos which could possible go away are those which entered the retail market after 2007. Whether that happens or not is still subject to a few law suits and proposed legislation to rein in the FDA. The question about whether new pipes will be available after 2018 is also subject to the same law suits and legislation. It could also be overturned in President Trump would sign an executive order instructing the FDA to either change it's Deeming rule or to not enforce it.

In other words, there will still be tobacco to buy after 2018. There will still be new pipes on the market. 

Simple

@pappyjoe Agreed. My concern is the cost. I'm sure tobacco will still be around for quite sometime but the more regulations equal more cost to consumers. I wonder how much a tin (legally purchased I.e. In state for some states) will be in five or ten years as the demand drops but the taxes rise. Interesting to see how it all plays out. Also becoming more interested in cellaring a collection of tobaccos so as not to incur future costs. At least that's how I'll sell my wife on it anyway.

xDutchx

The reality to it, is that tobacco has always been under fire since it was brought back to Europe by the explorers. During the 1600's Shah Sefi of Persia poured hot lead down the throats of two merchants for selling tobacco. In Russia Czar Alexis created penalties for smoking. First offense meant whipping, a slit nose, and exile to Siberia. Second offense meant execution. In China, they simply executed smokers first offense with no second chances.

The leverage the libbys now have, is the economic impact that the cigarette has had on the insurance and medical industry. Since the anti's want to see all tobacco outlawed, cigars and pipe tobacco are being lumped into the same category along with chemical laced cigarettes.

Pulling all the pipe tobaccos from the market made since 2007, makes no sense whatsoever, since the goal is to eliminate vaping products marketed since 2007. Clearly the left will take any and all opportunities to eliminate all tobacco products eventually. Think of the deeming regulations as just another stepping stone, to their ultimate goal of total elimination. If they cannot outlaw premium cigars and pipe tobacco immediately, they will chip away a little at a time, until they reach their ultimate goal. If they cannot completely take away your beloved pipe tobacco immediately, at least they can derive a little satisfaction in taking away a portion of your selection.

There are actually a lot of parallels between outlawing tobacco and outlawing firearms. Sad to say, there aren't nearly as many folks willing to stand up for their right to smoke a premium cigar or pipe tobacco, as there are those willing to stand up for the right to own a firearm.

ghostsofpompeii

I've been concerned to the degree that I spent a small fortune of my limited resources creating a cellar of tobacco blends that should last me the remaining years of my life. But I'm starting to have my doubts about the success of this new regulation and the liberal attitudes of the 'whack-a-do' American public. First and foremost - with so many new States jumping on board to legalize recreation marijuana how could they turn around an justify banning or limiting our access to tobacco. Are the States now in the business of dictating acceptable bad behavior? If tobacco cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco are bad for your health ... then and marijuana which is mostly delivered by the same inhalation method as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes should be just as hazardous to a persons health. Oh, and by the way marijuana is still illegal in most states whereas pipe tobacco isn't. So what sense is there is trying to ban a legal substance (tobacco) while fighting to legalize a banned substance (marijuana) - and somehow do it while sidestepping the health ramification of one over the other. 

From everything I've read Trump doesn't partake in either drink or smoke so he doesn't have any real skin in the game to make our plight any easier. But he does have a healthy aversion of Government Regulation so maybe he's the perfect man on the job for our particular cause at this time. But in the meantime @Hiker007 Slowly building up your supply of tobacco favorites isn't such a bad idea just in case the proverbial s**t hits the fan. Look at it this way ... if you enjoy smoking, tobacco will never be cheaper than it is today. It can only get higher ... like everything else we buy. So buying a couple of extra tins a month beyond what you normally smoke isn't a bad investment.  

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii -- You wrote <<....what sense is there is trying to ban a legal substance (tobacco) while fighting to legalize a banned substance (marijuana) .... >> Mi amigo, I'll tell you the same thing I told newcomers to the Board of Trustees: "You'll never get anywhere trying to make sense of what goes on."

Hiker007

@ghostsofpompeii -- How long will the tobacco stay fresh in the tin?

ghostsofpompeii

@Hiker007 I think most here would agree that the rule of thumb seems to be about two weeks once a tin is opened. Therefore it is advisable to transfer your tobacco in a Mason jar after that period of time to maintain its freshness. Most will agree that a Mason jar is the best way to go, for both short term as well as long term cellaring of your tobacco. 

motie2

@Hiker007 - Two excellent essays on the subject may be found at:

http://reason.com/archives/2016/12/13/the-fdas-unauthorized-war-on-pipes-and-c

and http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/the-pipe-pundit/tobaccolypse-survival-guide/#more-9950

motie2

Here is what might be considered "the horse's mouth."

https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/ProductsIngredientsComponents/ucm482580.htm

PappyJoe

@motie2 - I would like to know if the FDA has any hard data to support its number of 150,000 high school students smoking a pipe or if it's just a statistical guess extrapolated from the percentage of cigarette smokers who are of high school age. 

motie2

@PappyJoe -- The FDA might not survive the current Administration, at least not in any recognizable form, but consider this excerpt from

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/the-pipe-pundit/tobaccolypse-survival-guide/#more-9950

<<Most of the information to date about pipe tobacco is very misleading. The FDA’s focus has been to prevent children from smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuffing tobacco, smoking flavored cigars, and vaping with some sort of tool. That is a noble effort, to be sure.

But, be honest now. When is the last time you saw a child smoking a pipe? Huck Finn, right? But when did you witness a teenager pulling out a pipe and filling it with an expensive pipe tobacco blend? We are not talking about roll-your-own tobacco, which got pipe tobacco into the fix we are in today. The Pundit has never seen a teen smoking a tobacco pipe. Period! We won’t go into those other pipes that are for "medicinal purposes."

Most pipe smokers do not inhale pipe smoke. They smoke for the taste, just like you enjoy a steak, or a finely baked salmon. We are connoisseurs of tobacco and cringe in horror at cigarette smoke just as you might. We do not smoke pipes the way you think we do. We sip, and enjoy. Just as you do with a fine, expensive wine, or a superbly mixed drink.

So, when the FDA rules that we are tobacco rogues, renegades bent on killing ourselves and others, you should know that pipe smokers are the mind workers of the world. We contemplate. We reflect upon our world. We are not wreckers of youth.>>