by Colleen Dougher
2:22 PM EDT, August 22, 2011

Tobacco Factory manager Jonathan Silva (photos by Colleen Dougher)

Given all the people who’ve quit smoking and the rising cost of cigarettes in an already tough economy, it’s surprising to see businesses opening throughout South Florida with names such as Miami Smokes, Cigarette Station, Ciggy Mart and Tobacco Factory. These new stores, which offer an alternative to smokers tired of forking over $66 for a carton of cigarettes, allow customers to make their own cigarettes for as little as $19 for the equivalent of a carton.

Cigarette manufacturers must obtain a license and pay hefty fees and taxes, including a federal excise tax of $1.01 per pack of cigarettes. But those people who make cigarettes for personal use are not, for tax purposes, considered manufacturers. The shops opening in South Florida and around the nation help smokers take advantage of that personal-use exemption. Their customers can make cigarettes using a hand-cranked device that takes 90 minutes to produce the equivalent of a carton; an electric tabletop machine estimated to take up to 35 minutes; and RYO Machine Rental’s RYO Filling Station. This last machine weighs more than 700 pounds and can churn out 200 cigarettes in eight minutes. The owners of Golden Smokes in Hollywood and Flat Out Smokes in Fort Lauderdale claim their stores will soon open with machines that work twice as fast as RYO Filling Stations.

These stores plan to sell tobacco, cigarette tubes and smoking accessories, and to offer verbal instructions on how to operate the machines. “We, as a retailer, are not allowed to put the tobacco in the machine or touch the tubes,” says Rick Stevens, of Golden Smokes. “It’s completely up to the customer.”

Stevens will use a chart to replicate a customer’s favorite brand of cigarette. “If they smoke Marlboro Light but want it a little more bold, we can adjust that,” he says. “So I’m looking at it more like a connoisseur.”

He says the tobacco is grown in America and free of chemicals, additives and the steep federal tax that was levied on “roll-your-own tobacco” two years ago. Before the passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009, the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes was 39 cents, and roll-your-own and pipe tobacco were taxed $1.09 per pound. But the act increased the per-pack federal excise tax to $1.01 and raised the tax on roll-your-own tobacco to $24.78 a pound. The tax on pipe tobacco went up to $2.83-per-pound. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) acknowledges that the disparity between the two tax rates created a reason for people to use pipe tobacco rather ¿than roll-your-own when making their own cigarettes. The agency also has noted that no regulatory standard, other than some statutory definitions, differentiates the two products.

Pipe tobacco has become the key ingredient at shops that are appearing in South Florida at roughly the same rate as Wells Fargo bank buildings. The Wall Street Journal reported that in the 14 months following the federal tax placed on rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco sales in the United States tripled.

While many smokers appear to love the shops, tobacco companies, anti-smoking proponents and government officials are less receptive to them. In Arkansas, the shops prompted a law that banned the use of in-store commercial rolling machines starting in 2012. And in September 2010, the TTB announced that retail establishments using commercial cigarettemaking machines would be considered manufacturers under the Internal Revenue Code. By that time, David Rienzo, the assistant attorney general of New Hampshire, had sued two roll-your-own shops, arguing that companies using commercial rolling machines — some of which he said are marketed as “typically providing a whopping 300 percent return on investment in the first year” — are profiting from cigarettes being made in their stores, and therefore are manufacturers subject to fees and taxes.

Phil Accordino, an owner of the Ohio-based RYO Machine Rental, which claims to have more than 1,000 RYO Filling Station machines in 35 states, including Florida, has argued that allowing customers to use such machines does not make a shop owner a manufacturer any more than a grocery store becomes a coffee manufacturer by letting customers grind beans. Accordino contested the TTB’s ruling and was granted a preliminary injunction allowing stores using his machines to continue operating — at least for now. After Michigan’s Treasury Department subsequently advised 300 shops that it considered them to be manufacturers, RYO sought and won another preliminary injunction in an Ohio court. That decision is reportedly being appealed in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

As legal matters surrounding rolling machines continue wending through the courts, the TTB is evaluating how to distinguish pipe tobacco from roll-your-own and has stated that its findings may lead to new rule proposals. Meanwhile, the roll-your-own smoke shop trend marches on. Smokers want cheaper cigarettes and more alternatives, and people who provide a means for them to achieve that goal stand to profit.

Ciggy Mart, which opened last month in Palmetto Bay and soon will open another store in Miami, invites customers to “avoid paying federal manufacturing excise taxes” by making cigarettes from a variety of “all-natural and chemical-free tobacco” from the fields of North Carolina. General manager Scott Acker says customers can produce cartons using three options that take anywhere from eight to 90 minutes to complete and cost from $19.90 to $27.90.

Cigarette Station, which opened stores in Hialeah and Homestead and is planning six more, also offers several options, including the RYO Filling Station. Josh Gimelstein, who owns the business with his two brothers, says their father was a cigar and cigarette manufacturer and that their 86-year-old grandmother still works daily at Zelick’s Tobacco Corporation, her store on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

Roll-your-own shops are as much about offering natural tobacco as they are about affordability, says Gimelstein, whose prices begin at $21.99 a carton. “You’re going back to an era when people rolled their own, before they started adding horrible chemicals to their tobacco,” he says. In addition to pipe tobacco, Gimelstein plans to sell certified organic tobacco.

While he acknowledges that cigarettes are unhealthy, he says his goal is to allow customers to choose the best possible tobacco within their budgets. He says the concept has been warmly received, and the Hialeah store is selling more than 30 cartons a day just seven weeks after opening.

Stevens, of Golden Smokes, says he and partners Same Yorlendis and Tim Foran, all of whom work together at a Fort Lauderdale company that sells marine-waste-management systems, are anxious to open their shop. So is their co-worker Bill Demler, who will open Flat Out Smokes with partner Colleen Shobert.

These co-workers became interested in the roll-your-own concept after their general manager opened a store in Washington state. Within six weeks, Stevens says, the store was selling 65 cartons a day. Stevens and his partners approached RYO Smoke Smart about purchasing a $5,000 territory and two $25,000 rolling machines. Stevens says the $5,000 will ensure RYO Smoke Smart will not sell another machine in his territory, which he says is about five square miles. Demler and Shobert struck a similar deal and have decorated their shop with a Key West-style theme. Both shops planned to open in early June. But the machines have yet to arrive from RYO Smoke Smart, which Stevens says has experienced “manufacturing delay after manufacturing delay.”

Corey Fischer, the president and CEO of RYO Smoke Smart, didn’t return City Link’s phone calls, but Golden Smokes and Flat Out Smokes are scheduled to open Sept. 5. “Our machines are to be delivered the week prior,” Stevens says. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Jonathan Silva, the manager of Tobacco Factory, doesn’t need superfast machines at his shop in a Pompano Beach strip mall. The former signmaker owns several electric tabletop devices estimated to produce a carton’s worth of cigarettes in 20 minutes. Customers load the tobacco, insert a tube, push a button, hear a whir, remove their cigarette, and repeat the process until they’re finished. In addition to tobacco and cigarette tubes, Silva plans to stock hookahs, cigars, packaged cigarettes, rolling papers and other smoking needs. He’ll also sell coffee and bowls of yuca soup from an old family recipe.

His Fresh Choice machines don’t promise a carton in four minutes, or even eight, but they also weren’t a $25,000 investment. Fresh Choice sells its machines for $499; Silva sells them for only a dollar more. “They’re household items,” he says. “You can put them in a house, buy the tobacco from us and roll your own.”

Charging $2.83 a pack and $18.87 a carton, Silva isn’t worried about competition from stores that use faster machines. “I tell everybody, ‘We have more time than money nowadays,’ ” he says. “If it’s going to take a little longer, and you’re gonna save the money you have, it’s a big deal.”

By using Fresh Choice machines, Silva’s business may escape the federal scrutiny faced by his competitors, who are wondering how long they’ll be able to keep things rolling. It seems their ability to continue connecting smokers with a faster means to make less-expensive cigarettes will be decided by the courts.

Flat Out Smokes’ Demler says he initially was concerned about potential rulings, but after conducting some research, he felt confident enough to venture into the business. “Something might come along down the road,” he says. “But what it is, I think, is, ‘Just get into the business, try to make your money and if it happens, it happens.’ ”

Contact Colleen Dougher at cdougher@citylinkmagazine.com.

I had a rollup pouch that I love, with a latex lining. Well, a few tears were starting to show up in the latex, so I shelved my beloved pouch and bought a replacements. Actually, I bought several replacements, because they seemed to keep getting smaller and harder to open.

Finally, annoyed, I resurrected the rollup pouch. Our relationship resumed where it left off. Me stuffing it until it looked like a giant burrito.

Over the past week, things between us have gotten weird. I’d dip in the pouch for tobacco, and it would be empty. But I could feel it in there somewhere. Shrugging, I just kept refilling it.

Today my pouch ran dry, and the lump in it had just gotten larger. I got out a bright desk light, and investigated. Turns out one of the tears in the latex had grown, and the pouch had been hiding the tobacco behind the pouch, and it was almost impossible to get to easily.

I carefully dug out all the tobacco that seemed to be in it, then pulled out the latex. Well, guess I didn’t get all the tobacco out of it, as tobacco went flying everywhere. That’s it. My special relationship with my giant burrito of a pouch is officially over. I may dump the corpse in a ravine.

Anyway, it’s hard to start dating again…er, I mean finding a replacement pouch without fondling each one to see how deep and wide it is. Hmm…this is sounding more pornographic by the moment. So…do you guys have any suggestions? Need a pouch that can hold a lot of tobacco, I can still jam into a pocket regardless if it makes my ass look like it has mumps, and won’t cheat on me. Forget that last part, but you get the idea.

…I have absolutely no idea of what she’s saying, but she’s easy on the eyes.

By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item

SUNBURY -

Valley smokers are incensed at two congressional Democrats’ proposal to increase the tax on pipe tobacco a whopping 775 percent.

Buck Reibsame smokes a pipe in his office at home near Selinsgrove. Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Ron Rothermel, of Sunbury, is among Valley pipe smokers outraged by the plan to raise the tax from $2.8311 per pound to $24.78 per pound — the same rate that is imposed on roll-your-own tobacco products.

Many Valley smokers saw an opportunity to save money by buying special blends of pipe tobacco to make their own cigarettes after a higher roll-your-own tobacco products tax took effect last year.

“I smoke cigarettes and occasionally pipes,” Rothermel said. “I wish I hadn’t started smoking, but I did, and I resent the government’s actions. I feel they are picking on a certain class of people and taxing that class. The proposed tax is ridiculously high. It certainly could affect whether I buy pipe tobacco in the future.

“If this tax passes,” he fumed, “what’s next? Since excessive intake of sugar is unhealthy and leads to obesity, will they tax sugar? And what about fried foods? Are they going to tax french fries?”

Where is it all going to stop? Rothermel asked.

The widespread anger is a reaction to House Resolution 4439, or the Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010, introduced by U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen, of Tennesee, and Lloyd Doggett, of Texas.

Cohen, reached Friday in Washington, D.C., said the idea for his bill originated last year, after passage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Bill, which increased tobacco taxes to provide tens of millions of America’s children with health insurance.

Since its creation in 1997, CHIP has been funded through revenue generated by federal tobacco taxes.

As part of the CHIP law, roll-your-own tobacco is taxed at a $1.54 an ounce, while pipe tobacco — the exact same product — is taxed at 17 cents an ounce, Cohen said.

“Higher cigarette taxes have proven to be an effective way to discourage children from smoking,” Cohen said. “However, it was only weeks after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program into law that the tobacco industry figured out a way to exploit a loophole in the bill that endangers the health of children.

“Roll-your-own tobacco has historically been a small part of the cigarette industry,” Cohen said, but “the exploitation of this loophole enabled roll-your-own tobacco to capture an increasingly large portion of the market. Further exploitation of this loophole has the potential to cost the government more than $30 million a month in lost revenue.”

Instead of folding in the face of high taxes, tobacco companies quickly responded to the roll-your-own tax increase by all but shutting down those brands and reinventing them under a less-taxed category — pipe tobacco.

The tax? About a tenth of roll-your-own tobacco, at $2.83 per pound.

Smokers of pipes and cigarettes responded by buying up pipe tobacco.

Tobacco companies on their Web sites said they were just trying to find a legal way to stay afloat after being saddled with an enormous tax increase.

This, Cohen said, is why he introduced the bill, which is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.

House Resolution 4439 has not yet been scheduled for a floor vote, and may not be, said Josh Drobnyk, an aide to U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-10, of Dimock.

After all, there is only one co-sponsor.

Of the legislation, Carney said: “I am focused on measures that will improve our economy and ease — not increase — the tax burden on our working families during these tough economic times.”

The tax burden is the point of contention, pipe tobacco users said.

If the bill passes, taxes on tobacco — sold both by the gram and by the ounce — would rise to:

• $2.43 per 50 grams
• $2.74 per 2 ounces
• $10.98 per 8 ounces
• $24.78 per 16 ounces

These costs would be in addition to the price pipe smokers pay for those amounts of pipe tobacco. For example, with the average price of a 100-gram tin of McClelland Frog Morton about $13.20, the new price would be $18.06.

Buck Reibsame, of Selinsgrove, is steamed about the proposed hikes, as are many of his friends.

“I wouldn’t mind a fair tax, with maybe a 6 to 7 percent hike, but this one, if passed, would be outrageous,” he said Thursday.

“I’ve been smoking for about 40 years and I’ve never seen such an attack on a group of people like this one. If those politicians want to do something to raise revenues, how about cutting back on their perks?”

The government, added long-time smoker Jon McLaughlin, of Selinsgrove, is trying to legislate how he lives through tax manipulation.

“Last year they went after roll-your-own smokers,” said McLaughlin, a smoker for 41 years. “This year, they’re going after anything and everyone. It’s just about raising money. It’s always about money.”

What and who is to benefit from the tax increase? asked Bill Jennings, of Lewisburg.

“Don’t people in Congress have much more important things to worry about? And what could possibly be their justification for a tax amount of $24.78 per pound on something that often doesn’t cost that much to begin with?” he asked, and paused for a second. “Oh yeah, I get it. This tax is intended to make it so only the wealthiest can smoke pipes. Well how about that? Come on legislators. Be serious.”

Jennifer, a worker at a local smoke shop, who asked that her surname not be used, said she switched to pipe tobacco, instead of roll-you-own, and began rolling it into cigarettes. “The price was worth it,” she said. “And taste-wise, I didn’t find much difference.”

Now, she may have no choice but to pay higher prices.

Pipe tobacco is nominally coarser and somewhat moister than most blends of cigarette tobacco. But there are no regulations that say it has to be that way. The federal government says the only difference between the two is how the two tobaccos are labeled.

“The bill punishes pipe smokers and retail tobacconists,” said Jonah Johnstone, a smoker from Selinsgrove. Johnstone thinks this is nothing more than an attempt to rope in more taxes from roll-your-own cigarette tobacco re-labeled as pipe tobacco.

A tax increase of 775 percent on anything is ludicrous, Johnstone said.

“It could conceivably destroy an industry of pipe craftsmen, small farmers, tobacco blenders and retailers.”

“If this law passes, it could hurt out business a lot,” said Michelle Longenberger, an employee at Puff Discount, in Sunbury.

Pipe tobacco represents 30 to 40 percent of the shop’s business, Longenberger said.

“We sell everything from small pouches of tobacco, for 94 cents, to larger cans, for $16. Most customers who buy are simply rolling their own cigarettes. It’s what I do. You can roll a fair number for less than $2 total. Of course, that would all change if taxes were raised to the proposed levels.

“I really hope the bill doesn’t pass.”

Copyright © 1999-2010 cnhi, inc.

You know, I consider myself somewhat liberal, but I have to tell you, nothing would make me happier than lynching these two representatives.

January 23rd, 2010

H.R. 4439, the Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010 was introduced on January 13, 2010 and would raise the tax on pipe tobacco 775% from $2.8311 to $24.78 per pound.

As a service to the pipe smoking community and the industry of pipe makers and pipe tobacco producers we have set up a free service that will automatically send emails to your Senators and Congressmen.

In 15 seconds – Email Your Senators and Congressmen for FREE
Stop a 775% Tax Increase on Pipe Tobacco!

- We have already typed the letter for you. The system does everything. Just enter your address, we find the right contacts and send them your opposition to the tax increase.

In 15 seconds – Email Your Senators and Congressmen for FREE
Stop a 775% Tax Increase on Pipe Tobacco!

- You can add your own comments too!

In 15 seconds – Email Your Senators and Congressmen for FREE
Stop a 775% Tax Increase on Pipe Tobacco!

- Really make an impact by having a real letter printed on paper and hand-delivered. (This cost $3 per letter and is optional. You are given the choice at the end.)

A tax increase of 775% on anything is ludicrous. This will kill many small businesses and an historical tradition.

Download the bill here

Stephanie Halfmann and Cody Pyfer opened the "grown-up gift shop" in late 2009.

By Molly Snyder Edler
OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer
More articles by Molly Snyder Edler
Published Jan. 17, 2010 at 11:02 a.m.

When Stephanie Halfmann and Cody Pyfer moved back to Milwaukee after living in China, they decided to open an adult-oriented shop that was unlike anything else in the area. A short time later, they unveiled Blue, 7223 W. Greenfield Ave., on Nov. 27, 2009.

Blue is a one-stop shop for tobacco-smoking and sex-toy needs. This might sound similar to the windowless buildings that squat next to freeways, but according to Halfmann, Blue is quite different.

“Our atmosphere is clean, comfortable and non-judgmental,” says Halfmann, 25. “We’re trying to change the perception from seedy and sticky floors to a friendly place where you can have your needs met.”

And it’s true. Blue’s tag line is “a grown-up gift shop” and it describes the feel of the shop very accurately. Blue — which formerly housed the Scott Walker campaign headquarters — is freshly painted, filled with light from large front windows and very well organized into sections.

The front part of the space features imported items, including a large selection of incense including a hand-dipped brand called “Nose Desserts.”

“We really like incense,” says Halfmann.

Also, Blue offers a superabundance of tobacco accessories, including glass pipes, hookahs and water pipes made by glass blowers in the Madison area. The prices range greatly, from about $7 to $395 for a detailed pipe in the shape of a large demon.

The erotica section boasts a decent selection of vibrators and other sex toys, along with lingerie, dance wear and a large collection of DVDs divided into sections like gay, lesbian, transgender, East Asian, Latina, African American and European. All of the DVDs are for sale, but not for rent.

“We really encourage people to ask questions about our stock,” says Pyfer. “Because there isn’t a Consumer Report on the best lube.”

Blue also sports a bachelorette party favor section that includes all the classics like the famous “Pecker Straws.”

Halfmann and Pyfer are both University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates, and in the future, they hope to offer educational workshops at Blue. Local woman-owned erotic boutiques like The Tool Shed, 2427 N. Murray Ave., and A Woman’s Touch, 200 N. Jefferson St., have similar missions, except they do not sell tobacco smoking accessories.

“We are really trying to reach out to couples,” says Halfmann. “We are trying to make it as easy as possible for them to come in to a shop like this.”

Prior to opening Blue, Halfmann and Pyfer spent a year in China teaching and studying. Currently, the couple lives in West Allis.

“We like it here. There’s a great mix of people and it’s really close to everything,” says Pyfer.

Owning a grown-up gift shop comes naturally to Pyfer. He grew up in Oshkosh where his family owns the local business Satori Imports which is similar to Blue.

Halfmann and Pyfer knocked around a lot of different names before settling on “Blue.” They wanted to name their shop something that was easy to remember and not embarrassing to say. It is also, of course, a play on words.

“At first, we came up with a lot of really cheesy names, but one day we were standing in front of the building, which is blue, and we decided that would make a simple name for our store,” says Halfmann.

Okay, this comes as close to the perfect store for pipe smokers as possible. Okay, maybe that’s just me…

Blue on Facebook

2009-11-03 01:31:43 -
www.medicarefinance.com

…

Causes of Carcinoma Of  The Oropharynx

There are a number of factors that present risks for developing oral and oropharyngeal cancer. These include tobacco, alcohol, human papillomavirus, ultraviolet light, vitamin A deficiency and immune system suppression.

Smoking or chewing tobacco is the greatest risk factor for developing oral cancer. The risk increases the longer a tobacco habit persists. These individuals may frequently develop other cancers involving the lung, head and neck. Pipe smoking carries a significant risk for cancers in the part of the lips that contact the pipe-stem. Chewing tobacco is associated with cancers of the cheek, gums and inner surface of the lips.

About 75 to 80 percent of all patients with oral cancer consume alcohol frequently, and oral and oropharyngeal cancers are about six times more common in drinkers than in nondrinkers. People who smoke and drink alcohol have a much higher risk of cancer than those using alcohol or tobacco alone. It is likely that these substances either directly or indirectly damage the DNA of the epithelial cells.

Human papilloma virus may contribute to the development

of some oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. This is especially true in individuals who have other risk factors.

More than 30 percent of patients with cancers of the lip have occupations associated with prolonged sunlight exposure. Many of these patients are fair-skinned with light hair and blue eyes.

Vitamin A deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity and oropharynx. People taking immunosuppressive drugs to treat immune-system diseases or to prevent rejection of transplanted organs may be at increased risk for cancers of the oral cavity and oropharynx.

…

Here’s the rest of the depressing article. Remember, tobacco, alcohol, human papillomavirus, ultraviolet light, vitamin A deficiency and immune system suppression. And the oddly missing genetics and/or family history of cancer. Pretty much life in general unless you live in a cave. Kiss your ass goodbye, and bid farewell with a pipe and a blindfold.

By Mona Sandefur
Mon Oct 26, 2009, 01:19 PM CDT

From Perdomo to Acid to 5 Vegas and Gurkha, cigar smokers now have a wider selection from which to choose.

The Smoke Break owner Cindy Schmechel said the cigar humidor officially opened on Friday inside the store, located at 601 W. Main St., Benton.

“This is a first for Franklin County,” she said. “We have opened the first walk-in cigar humidor in the county.”

Her husband Dan said many items have been added to the store since it opened on Sept. 1

“We had 99 products on Sept. 30 and are now up to 330,” he said. “We expect to do the same thing with the cigars. Cindy will be expanding the line to include a range of humidors for cigar smokers.”

Schmechel said that until the humidors arrive in the store customers would receive a humidification disc with their purchase.

“Cigars are like a fine wine and get better with time,” she said. “Optimum humidity for a humidor is 70 percent. When we sell cigars, customers receive a humidification disc and a ziplock bag to store them in when they get home. All you do is soak the disc in cold water, dry the outside and put it in the ziplock bag with your cigars.”

She said the roll your own variety of cigarettes has tripled since The Smoke Break opened its doors.

“I am pushing people more toward rolling their own cigarettes and have even depleted the distributor of rolling machines because it is becoming so popular,” Schmechel said. “I have also expanded my cigarette line but will not stop there.

“The next thing to stock shelves will be blends of pipe tobacco,” she said. “I will be setting up a blending bar where customers can select their own blends of tobacco and buy the blends by the ounce.”

Schmechel said she is still taking customer requests for more items for the store.

“I am trying to track down a particular brand of snuff for some of the people who work at the Galatia mine,” she said. “Since I opened the store, people have been giving me a lot of great comments. Folks say they are saving time and money because they were having to drive to Carbondale, Mt. Vernon or even St. Louis to get smoking supplies they wanted.”

Dan Schmechel said customers seem to flock to Cindy.

“People seem to just love her,” he said. “She takes the time to talk with them and all of them comment about how knowledgeable she is about the products she offers. People compliment her, saying the services The Smoke Break provides are excellent.”

He said he anticipates the store would be pretty well stocked in another six weeks.

A grand opening has been scheduled for Nov. 16.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 435-3333.

A Movement to Pipes: It’s the Economy

Posted May 5th 2009 3:02PM by Tom Johansmeyer
Filed under: Cigars

Cigar smoking is a lifestyle commitment … and investment. Unless you’re smoking low-end cigars, your daily spend is at least $5 and could reasonably reach $10. If you truly go upscale, you’re looking at $20 a day or more, with boxes starting at $450. It becomes expensive quickly, and today, people are reconsidering how they use their “fun money.” Unsurprisingly, pipes are gaining popularity as a cost-effective smoking alternative without forcing you into the nasty world of cigarettes.

At first, pipe smoking appears to be pricey. To enter the world of briar, you could lay out hundreds of dollars – even thousands. And, since you can’t buy just one pipe, the cost multiplies. Once you get past the initial purchase, though, pipe smoking is quite affordable. Top pipe tobacco brands cost less than $15 a tin … roughly the cost of a cigar.

Like cigars, pipes range from garbage to entry level to high-end. Generally, quality follows price. A $5 corn cob is what you would expect, and hand-crafted Dunhills – which can sell for more than $1,000 – may be a bit much for someone testing the waters.