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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
A
ccording to an October 2014
report by ABC News, pipe
smoking is becoming increasingly
popular among young adults. The media
outlet said that pipes are shedding their
stodgy image and attracting the same
hipsters who appreciate specialized
coffees, artisanal cheese and microbrew
beers—and they are now trending toward
higher-end tobaccos.
I believe it! This year I have held 35
to 40 pipe events across the country, and
I see young guys coming in wanting to
learn how to smoke a pipe or reporting
that they started a few months ago. This
is definitely a trend. I can think of a few
possible reasons for their interest. Young
people probably like the social aspect
of pipe smoking—getting together in
groups and chatting about the blends
and pipes. Another reason could be that
their grandfathers smoked pipes and
their memories of these pipe-smoking
relatives could make it a cool retro thing
to do. Finally, pipe smoking is still a
reasonably inexpensive way to enjoy a
smoke, once you get past the initial pipe
purchase.
In any event, after a steeply declining
trend of pipe smoking, it’s good to see a
bit of the reverse trending. The younger
pipe-smoking adult is probably not a
hard puffer with several bowls a day,
but rather an occasional smoker when
the time and place are right, such as at a
social gathering.
I also think that these young men will
not look to buy their tobacco and pipes in
mass-market outlets, but will rather look
to tobacconist shops for guidance and
meaningful help when starting out.
This, of course, represents an
opportunity for the tobacconist stores to
excel as experts in the category. For that
reason, it’s important to have a “pipe guy”
behind the counter who can steer this
customer in the right direction, and to
have a proper assortment of tobaccos and
pipes.
Don’t miss out on this potential
opportunity.
Cheers!
Pipe Popularity
Offers
Potential
More young people are taking up pipe smoking.
By Erik Stokkebye