Saga of Tobacco cost: Manitoba

[AlphaWarrior]

I did. But My life is more enjoyable with it so I put my Honda Rebel up on blocks. It's 15% of its value each year to insure because we have a public insurance monopoly for vehicle registration in Manitoba. Another topic I don't want to address at length. It is what it is. Immigrating to the United States becomes more appealing to more Canadians with every passing year.

Make sure you come in through Mexico and so you can collect some cash on the way in I'm not even kidding, though.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Ouch! Are you allowed to bring any in if you go on a trip somewhere?

 

[daveinlax]

I know many of my Canadian pipe friends maintain a US shipping address. Here in SoAZ we have thousands Canadian snowbirds and I've never heard anyone I hang out with by the pool or cigar shop ever complain about the their homeland much less permanently move to the US. We had one young guy at the shop who grew up in AZ return to visit his parents say he loves his life in Toronto.

 

[Bud Savoie01]

1 single 50g tin of decent pipe tobacco here in New Zealand is almost 200$... so it would cost me almost 4,000$ to buy 1 kilo of tobacco, and it is wildly illegal to import any... there is 1 tobacconist in the country.... it's insane, it's cruel and it's unjust. We are not even allowed to see the makers marks and patterns on the tins/pouches ect. And there is 0 decrease in price with buying multiples. Yet it's pretty hard to move off an island at the bottom of the world
It's awful...

Your politicians must be even worse than some of ours (USA). I thought I read some time ago that NZ made all tobacco illegal. The United States learned the hard way that making something illegal only increases its desirability and gives the gangsters another opportunity to make, import, and sell another (untaxable) contraband product.

 

[Singed]

I really appreciate the input from other areas that this thread has generated, it's a good way to put our hobby in perspective. Knowing the market issues internationally helps me better understand the POV people hold.

 

[Singed]

Ouch! Are you allowed to bring any in if you go on a trip somewhere?

YEs, there are duty free exemptions but the personal usage amounts are ... inadequate? They are dependent on time spent travelling and the permissible amounts for tobacco lag far behind those for alcohol.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I'm open for some trips. You gotta pay for the tobacco and all my expenses, but I'll come visit. I jest (sort of).

 

[Toth]

Yeah it's really sad, misguided and unfair. However maybe I appreciate my pipes more than I would otherwise... I'm honestly not sure.
I refuse to let that freedom die, there aren't many pipe smokers here and it might actually become illegal all together if we don't "represent". It just hurts the pocket something fierce.
Thanks! Any time I can help people appreciate what they have, I consider a win. Have a bowl and remember as bad as things are/feel, we are still soo lucky. Tobacco may be one of the most demonized things in this country, but I still smoke. I would rather enjoy life and be as healthy as I can, rather than trying to live to other people's standards. Thanks for the "shout out" and have a good day/afternoon/evening/night/ morning

Wow, I should feel blessed. I can still buy a 14 oz tub of SWR at the local Indian Tribe smoke shop for about $28. A 14 oz bag of Smokers Pride black cav is maybe $15 at P&C. Bulk McBaren ODF is maybe $4 an oz. So for less than $45 I can blend up a lb. of my Urban Cowboy. Guess our govt hasn't gotten as crazy as you guys, but we do seem to be heading that way. Hope it changes with the next election.

I'm happy it's still that way for some people May it hold true friend!
Noone should have the suffer the prices and discrimination that is considered normal here :/

 

[Toth]

Your politicians must be even worse than some of ours (USA). I thought I read some time ago that NZ made all tobacco illegal. The United States learned the hard way that making something illegal only increases its desirability and gives the gangsters another opportunity to make, import, and sell another (untaxable) contraband product.

Oh we have some ragingly atrocious politicians :/

hahaha and yeah, they tried. We were supposed to be a "smoke free" country by.... last year hahaha and it will never happen. Even with prices as they are and going up every year, sometimes twice, black market tobacco and smash and grabs for tobacco from stores have gone up 1,000's of percent. And yet alcohol is pushed on us like a parent pushes vegetables. As someone who smokes a pipe in moderation and doesn't drink, it feels very discriminatory, not to mention hypocritical

 

[Toth]

Ouch! Are you allowed to bring any in if you go on a trip somewhere?

Hahaha we are... no dip (wet tobacco/chewing tobacco, hookah tobacco ect), no snuff, no paste (the euro version of wet snuff, except in paste form) and of RYO tobacco and pipe tobacco we are allowed to enter our country with... drum roll please... 1.7oz/a single 50gram tin/pouch
If I could fly to parts of Europe and or the states, and legally return with it, I could return with 10,000's of dollars worth of tobacco for less than the plane ticket costs. And that's a plane ticket from the south island of New Zealand, to the (almost literally) other side of the world and back... but no, I can return with 1 small tin, and even then it has to be something that is sold here, or it is confiscated at costoms and destroyed

 

[Toth]

I know this is only "topic adjacent", but... how much does a basic Brigham pipe (rusticated voyager range type thing) actually cost in your respective area's?
It's around 193$ for the bottom of the range here. I have 2 brigham voyagers, a #123 bent billiard and an #147 bent Dublin, both "1 dot", and they were almost 400$ between them, but when I google them they come up for about 36$ USD or around d 30$ euro... however can't I legally buy/send for them :/ I have to buy them through our single tobacconist.
Go up to a basic Savinelli and your jumping up to 330$ and will quickely end up over 1,000$ For a factory made pipe, I'm too scared to even look at what price artesian pipes even start at here, before import, excise, GST ect :/

 

[Singed]

I think this pipe cost me $75 CAN 12 years ago with a pouch of tobacco. Brigham Voyageur (129) bent apple, a great pipe. The same pipe lists at $79.99 on Victory Pipes in Ontario today.

 

[Toth]

I think this pipe cost me $75 CAN 12 years ago with a pouch of tobacco. Brigham Voyageur (129) bent apple, a great pipe. The same pipe lists at $79.99 on Victory Pipes in Ontario today.

View attachment 14675

I was going to say "that's not so bad", until I read the bit about a pouch too... if I added the price of a pouch to one of my voyagers it would jump up to 360$ :/

Lovely pipe by the way! Is it vulcanized? I think that whole line might be... I would like to get a few on the Author, Apple, Tomato, Brandy type shapes, I lent towards the billiard types early on. Do the more stout shapes (like the one in your photo for instance) tend to burn cooler? I know that being thicker in outer diameter is going to absorb more heat, but does it actually "smoke cooler?" Just curious

Hahaha and a fun fact, your cool foldable tamper, which is both practical and easy on the eye... here is considered a "offensive/deadly weapon", which is both illegal to own, handle, transport or import... *sigh :/
And yet i could legally import a battle axe made from durable, modern materials with no legal qualms or paperwork or lesences or reason for doing so... people talk about how messed up north America politics is, and it is, but it's on a world stage. If the world knew what we are forced to do and not do boarders on inhumane at times...
We don't even have freedom of speech

 

[Toth]

I think this pipe cost me $75 CAN 12 years ago with a pouch of tobacco. Brigham Voyageur (129) bent apple, a great pipe. The same pipe lists at $79.99 on Victory Pipes in Ontario today.

View attachment 14675

 

[Toth]

View attachment 14678View attachment 14679

This was my "first pipe" and is the one I was talking about, (the #123 voyager, bent billiard)

 

[Singed]

@Toth Thanks for the compliment! As far as smoking cooler, I can't say that I have noticed a big difference between shapes. In my experience the material of the pipe and the smoking technique have more impact on the temperature of the smoke and the feel in the hand. I lean heavily towards bent and rounded pipes b/c they remind me of my father, I bought this particular Voyageur when he passed. My first pipe was liberated from my dad's junk drawer when I was 18 and headed for university, it was also a Brigham. Brigham one spots are tough utile pipes, yours is testament to that and so is mine. It does have a vulcanite stem and for a clenchable pipe I find that a necessity.

It is with some dismay that I read that even a folding pipe tool is verboten for you. I can not begin to wrap my head around that.

Tobacco laws here are leaning more and more towards prohibitive legislation, too. I did read that NZ repealed the outright ban, I think that was two months ago, give or take. I empathize with the restrictions on that you face on our shared hobby, you are among friends here @ BoB. We all face similar obstacles, varying in degree.

 

[Toth]

@Toth Thanks for the compliment! As far as smoking cooler, I can't say that I have noticed a big difference between shapes. In my experience the material of the pipe and the smoking technique have more impact on the temperature of the smoke and the feel in the hand. I lean heavily towards bent and rounded pipes b/c they remind me of my father, I bought this particular Voyageur when he passed. My first pipe was liberated from my dad's junk drawer when I was 18 and headed for university, it was also a Brigham. Brigham one spots are tough utile pipes, yours is testament to that and so is mine. It does have a vulcanite stem and for a clenchable pipe I find that a necessity.

It is with some dismay that I read that even a folding pipe tool is verboten for you. I can not begin to wrap my head around that.

Tobacco laws here are leaning more and more towards prohibitive legislation, too. I did read that NZ repealed the outright ban, I think that was two months ago, give or take. I empathize with the restrictions on that you face on our shared hobby, you are among friends here @ BoB. We all face similar obstacles, varying in degree.

You are more than welcome
That makes sense, I did think it might burn cooler in the hand if it's a larger/thicker shape, however I did wonder how it could actually make the smoke cooler. I find you're right, cadence, ensuring a proper moisture level and careful packing/tamping to have faar more impact. I will admit that better cured briar/a better grain "arrangement" made more of a difference than I thought it would. Of course that all assumes an equal cake to be a constant.
I lean toward bent shapes as well, I love the appearance and the tactile feel, I am more of a "holder" than a "clencher" so hand feel makes a large difference for me.
Your reason makes me both happy and sad, I am happy you have something to physically connect you to his memory.
I agree, versatile and reliable is a good description of the line. I would like to try maybe a mountaineer, something (from Brigham) that uses a higher grade briar so I can compare the difference within the same maker. I think they also have the best filters, if I use one. I don't with "dryer" blends, but blends that are more "wet", (even with hours of airing out a pipes worth in the open, often, but not always, aeros) then those rock maple system filters stop any gurgle, doesn't restrict the pull too much and doesn't mess with the taste. when I hear people hate on filters I do wonder in my head if they had ever given the brigham system a go, I can see how other filter types are not worth the effort and quietly suspect that exposure to a bad filter system is responsible for a large percentage of people who are anti filters... and I agree, clenching acrylic hurts my teeth pretty quick, but vulcanite is just that little bit softer and it makes all the difference for me the only thing I worry about is biting through one by mistake, I have never done it but I do wonder...
Do you mind if I ask what you studied? Please don't feel obliged to answer if you don’t want to, I am simply chronically curious and I have never used "social media" before now (assuming this counts) so I'm not sure of the finer points of the etiquette

Indeed, our legislation is so insane in so many ways there's not enough time in the year to even mention them all. The same goes for a folding comb for instance, I can import a cold forged steel/stainless steel 12"+ Bowie knife but not a plastic comb that folds... there is no logic I can find in it, and I have wondered for many years, if anyone can enlighten me on it I would be both grateful and likely more confused hahaha
(I do apologise if this counts as "politics", politics is most certainly not why I'm here)

Argh I'm sorry to hear it is more prohibitive for you too :/
Last I heard they were going to make the legal age to smoke 18yrs old in 2025, so anyone born on or before 2007 could smoke. The catch was that it didn't change, so the next year the legal age would be 19, the year after that it would be 20 ect... not that it would directly effect me, the idea makes me sad and angry, it's not fair or just, and effect me or not I can't abide by people having choices they deserve/should have being taken away, it feels wrong down to my core. Humans should be able to do what they like, as long as they are not directly harming others by doing so (in my opinion). Thank you for being so welcoming, it is wonderful to be able to learn from and talk with people who are both accepting and interested in something that feels like a dead art here, it makes me feel slightly less alone, I very much appreciate it!
And I'm only slightly envious reading about the availability, freedom of information and of course, price of pipe related things around the world hahaha it mostly just makes me happy for others. I'm pleased most people don't have quite the same level of *****, not to be-little the increasing issues elsewhere, it seems like it's getting worse across the board :/

 

[Timbo]

Hahaha and a fun fact, your cool foldable tamper, which is both practical and easy on the eye... here is considered a "offensive/deadly weapon", which is both illegal to own, handle, transport or import... *sigh :/
And yet i could legally import a battle axe made from durable, modern materials with no legal qualms or paperwork or lesences or reason for doing so... people talk about how messed up north America politics is, and it is, but it's on a world stage. If the world knew what we are forced to do and not do boarders on inhumane at times...
We don't even have freedom of speech

Not quite that bad in Aus yet, I brought a couple of pipe tools with spikes and blunt knives in my pipe bag into a courtroom last year. I was stopped at the bag xray but when I "slashed" my wrist with the blunt blade, they let me through. Glad I didn't have my Rogers pipe tool with me, those are sharp...

Security theatre

 

[Timbo]

Argh I'm sorry to hear it is more prohibitive for you too :/
Last I heard they were going to make the legal age to smoke 18yrs old in 2025, so anyone born on or before 2007 could smoke. The catch was that it didn't change, so the next year the legal age would be 19, the year after that it would be 20 ect... not that it would directly effect me, the idea makes me sad and angry, it's not fair or just, and effect me or not I can't abide by people having choices they deserve/should have being taken away, it feels wrong down to my core. Humans should be able to do what they like, as long as they are not directly harming others by doing so (in my opinion). Thank you for being so welcoming, it is wonderful to be able to learn from and talk with people who are both accepting and interested in something that feels like a dead art here, it makes me feel slightly less alone, I very much appreciate it!
And I'm only slightly envious reading about the availability, freedom of information and of course, price of pipe related things around the world hahaha it mostly just makes me happy for others. I'm pleased most people don't have quite the same level of *****, not to be-little the increasing issues elsewhere, it seems like it's getting worse across the board :/

Seemed a vaguely sensible way of legislating tobacco out of a society until you counter in the black market... Show's the universal truth that most pollies have never worked a day in the real world.

Yes, I too feel sad that a whole generation and those going forward will have their rights stripped from them due to "heatlh" reasons. However alchohol, gambling and obscene tax lurks will always be welcome. Those three are the some of the biggest problems in Australia today sadly and no pollie has the guts to do anything, hence the tobacco whumping as we are growing smaller in numbers by the day and an easy target and they are seen to be doing something.

 

[user 6274]

Not within the parameters of the thread but, speaking of failures, there's Canada Post. I placed 2 orders the same day (January 3rd).
One was shipped from the UK, the other, from Toronto.
The parcel from the UK was delivered yesterday.
The one from Toronto? God knows when it will be delivered. It's not even on the island of Newfoundland yet.
And this is not the first time it happens.
Never seen the like of it.