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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MARCH/APRIL 2015
Many of you
may have seen
younger
adult
males
coming
into your shop
wanting to smoke
a pipe. When I
come across these
newly interested
young men and
ask about their attraction to pipes,
they often tell me that their interest
was sparked not by their fathers’ pipe
smoking, but by their
grandfathers
’
pipe smoking.
When you, as a retailer, are helping
someone get started there are a few
things to keep in mind. For example,
it’s important to have the customer
start out with a milder aromatic
tobacco that burns easy and gentle.
It’s also important to educate those
new to pipe smoking on the steps
involved in making the experience
enjoyable. Here are some other key
points about the process for you to
share:
Getting Started
Smoking a Pipe
Five steps to an enjoyable pipe-smoking experience
By Erik Stokkebye
Step One
Work a pipe cleaner into the stem and shank of your pipe to ensure that the hole has
been drilled properly.Make sure the bowl is empty before filling.
Step Two
Loosely add tobacco to the bowl with your fingers rather than a tool in order to get
a feel for the process. Apply more pressure as you fill the pipe. Take a test draw—you
want the air to flow freely and yet still feel a bit of resistance from the tobacco. If you’re
using a new pipe, only add enough tobacco to fill two-thirds of the bowl for your first
three to four bowls smoked.
Step Three
Once you’ve filled the pipe and your test draw is smooth, start lighting the tobacco
by using matches or a pipe lighter. After the first light, tamp the ashes with a pipe tool.
Then relight and tamp again.With a new pipe you will most likely need to repeat this
three or four times.
Step Four
Once the pipe is well lit, puff gently and tamp the ashes as you smoke. You should
try to smoke the tobacco all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.
Step Five
When finished, empty the ashes from the bowl, run a pipe cleaner through your pipe
and let it rest until next time.