Put this in your pipe and smoke it: Cigars aren't the only
flame in town for tobacco enthusiasts. Perhaps as a way to sneak
tweed back into fashion, folks are beginning to take a greater
interest in pipes these days. Indeed, if the smoke signals are to
be believed, pipes are downright trendy.
Not that it's all that easy to pinpoint the number of pipe
smokers. According to 1994 figures--the most recent available--from
the Pipe Tobacco Council, roughly 3 million smokers are in the
pipeline. Pipe smokers tend to be married white males with some
college background. And even though approximately half the pipe
smokers are 46-plus years old, there's reason to suspect the
current cachet of cigars could puff up the popularity of pipes
among younger folks.
"As more young professionals go into tobacco shops to
purchase cigars, they're being exposed to aromas of pipe
tobacco," says the Pipe Tobacco Council's Norman
Sharp.
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One potential fire-stopper: Pipes aren't easy to smoke.
"You have to break in the pipe," says Sharp. "You
have to pack it. And then you have to light it a couple times
before it takes."
Taking this into account, it's no surprise to learn pipe
smokers are generally a methodical bunch. As for wearing
tweed--well, that's entirely optional.