The fact that many pipe blends are in fact made with the same tobaccos as cigarettes didn’t take long to uncover, despite some initial controversy.  Flue cured, Burleys and Orientals make up a large part of the pipesters arsenal sharing the basic constituents of 90%+ of the popular cigarette and RYO blends.   Now a lot of pipe blends are unsuitable for rolling and stuffing cigarettes with and we’ll avoid these; the aromatics and Cavendished blends along with any and all over-cased and humidified blends.  The addition of excess sugars, Proplyene Glycol and other additives make for an uncomfortable and unsatisfying cigarette.   Other pipe blends are foreign to the majority of cigarette smoker’s taste’s and many might find them offensive, Latakia and Periques come to mind.

Finally there’s the physical differences, those that render some blends unsuitable for use in either stuffing and/or rolling DIY cigarettes.  The machines that the RYO smoker uses aren’t suitable for some and the blends themselves are unsuitable to be burned successfully in cigarette tubes and rolling papers.  We’ll stay away from these blends as well, most commonly Flakes, Stoved, Cavendished and Kaked products.  That leaves us with the preferable Ribbon and uncommon Shag cuts and the less than optimal Twist, Plug and Rubbed blends.  Ribbon cuts are similar to most RYO cuts but thicker and larger while Shags are a cut we’re already familiar with and ready-to-go.   Twisted, Plugged and Rubbed blends can be suitable depending on manufacturer and texture of the final product but the least desirable and most time consuming to prepare of the usable blends.

Many RYO smokers are looking for specific blends but in reality, there’s too many to count.  Instead of the hundred blends available to RYO consumers pre-S-CHIP, and what most are still accustomed to, the pipeosphere offers in excess of a thousand blends for RYO enthusiasts to explore and experiment with.  But where to start, well as above, Ribbons for starters.   This common pipe cut in an uncased and unflavored blend with none or minimal humectants can stuff perfectly right out of the tin.  A bit of drying is necessary, note:  anything that takes excessive time here might be and probably is overly cased.  Overly humidified, or blends cased in humectants such as Propylene Glycol (which is done to retain “freshness” or moisture) are uncomfortable and most likely unhealthy to inhale.  What we’re looking for here are the largley uncased Burleys, straight Virginia’s, VaPers (Virginia and Perique), Orientals and combinations thereof.  Another factor to consider is packaging.

Pipe tobaccos come tinned, pouched, bulk blends which are commonly “Glad-bagged”, and Twisted and Plugged, which are self explanatory.  Any cut can be packaged in any of these ways, including the Twists and Plugs.  Incidentally, speaking of Twists and Plugs, while these are time consuming, these are usually extremely smokable and have relatively little or in many cases, no humectants nor flavorings.  These are oftentimes the strongest and too uncomfortable for many cigarette smokers to inhale.  Tins, being the most expensive packaging, often hold the most desirable blends but the price per lb can easily exceed $70lb.  Unless you’re in love with a specific blend, tinned tobaccos should be reserved for the pipe smokers.  The packaging most RYOers should be looking for is the bulk selections.  Here is where we can get pipe blends at post S-CHIP prices of less than $30lb, and that’s for some premium tobaccos!  Blends like C&D, McClellen and Peter Stokebbye come to mind, although we’re in no way limited to them these are the blends I’ve gained the most experience with.

Got your Ribbon, Twist or Rubbed blend and are ready to stuff?  What to do now is dry the tobacco, and this is where many RYOers will make a common mistake.  Regardless of cut, pipe tobaccos are generally thicker and larger than any RYO cut the smoker will have had experience with.   The RYOer will be tempted to stuff the tobacco when it feels like his or her RYO did when it was ready and this is a mistake.  The pipe cut will have to be dried to where it feels too dry and markedly drier than any RYO should feel when stuffed.  In fact, the pipe cut should feel so dry as to make one think they overdid it, but this is when it’s ripe for stuffing.  Rollers need not be overly concerned with this part although a too-wet blend will be bland and slow to burn with less than optimal smoke output.   The machine will have a different feel when stuffing pipe tobacco, it will have a stronger than usual resistance that will “break” and the tobacco then shoots into the tube.  This doesn’t occur with every blend but the once the thickness of the pipe leaf is broken, the built up tension will practically feel like it’s stuffing itself at first.

Much of the worry and anticipation that this bill has caused wouldn’t have been much of an issue 30 years ago, not just because our government wouldn’t have (and didn’t) fleece it’s citizens in such an open and immoral fashion but because dual purpose tobaccos were more common.  I’ve even heard of triple use tobacco where a twist would be a satisfying chew in the morning and afternoon and the spent chew could be dried for use in the pipe or then further ground for rolling one!  The fact is the overwhelming majority of smokers wish to continue smoking but it is true that most would appreciate a little less expense and harassment.

By fixing it’s RYO tobacco tax rate, a state can prevent any revenue loss from smokers switching from regular cigarettes to RYO, while also making the RYO products much less attractive and accessible to youths.”

RYO is a centuries old industry in no need of a bailout, so this is what their “fix” actually means:

By manipulating and raising it’s reasonable and traditional RYO tax rates, a state can assure maximum gouging of it’s citezens through prejudicial taxes on affordable RYO “kit products”  to keep their smokers addicted to “regular cigarettes”  (the ones that were previously established in US courts as specifically engineered for high consumption) therefore making the RYO kit products unaffordable  (eventually unavailable to everyone) in the future and ensuring a reliable and continuing revenue stream.

In a nutshell, RYO was too affordable and not generating enough money for the government and these worthless special interest groups.   Keep in mind, the farmer sells a pound of cured cigarette tobacco for around $2, by the time the consumer is able to purchase the tobacco the price will now shoot up to around $45lb (was about $15.00 pre-S-CHIP)!  The lionshare of the remaining $43 is taxes and MSA, by lionshare we’re talking over $30!   Smoke em if you got em, after all….it’s for someone elses kids!

Check out their site, it’s full of great ideas!  I guess cigars have been broken all along, I see that they’ve already figured out how to “fix” them too.   Hopefully liquor bottles (by the shot glass I presume) will be next, and who knows, chips by the chip and sodas by the sip.   I’ve read of something so udderly ridiculous as to tax cows by the fart, maybe we’ll be next.   That would be simple with modern technology I imagine, just shove a microchip where the sun don’t shine and start counting the revenue!   Why not, it’s for the children.  Maybe the children should be allowed all the farts they can rip out till they’re 18, at least let em get that old before they go insane.  Can we do it?

This little beauty is a handsomely packaged little treat with a premium hand rolled look to it. A clean and uniform wrap that betrays it’s true nature as a flavored cigar. The flavored cigar is often looked down upon by the self professed cigar connoisseurs abundant on the Net, but the Acid is a different class by being “infused” with flavor. This has nothing to do with the Strawberry Vanilla Swisher available at the local Brew-Thru and the price shows it, rivaling established Dominicans. A quick punch cut and my first Acid trip had begun.

The first few puffs were vegetal, not uncommon and quickly puffed away for the most part. Not so in this case, the vegetal stayed the length of the smoke. Not entirely unpleasant though and it soon mingled with the increasing infused flavors to mimic what reminded me of of a soapy, floral taste like accidentally sipping on some herbal shampoo in the shower, only with sugar. This too was curiously pleasant paired with the background of bitter Nicaraguan leaf, particularly tasty when drawn through the nostrils. The light draw and immense clouds of smoke this little sucker was capable of was impressive from any cigar much less this diminutive smoker. A decent burn with no runs and a compact, tight ash. An off the wall smoke to say the least but it did keep my attention, not so much for it’s complexity as it’s novelty, but tasty too in a curious way. When I did get to the nicotine soaked end where the bitterness grows along with the buzz, I could see maybe doing this one again, on occasion.

I won’t be stocking up anytime soon but I am looking forward to trying the other three I got; a Kuba Kuba, a Deep Dish and an Earthiness. With a Partegas or RyJ thrown in to bring me to baseline I can see enjoying an Acid here and there. This won’t take the place of a good Dominican for my tastes but I can see the attraction. I was hoping this wasn’t a lollipop disguised as a cigar and it’s not. There is some real tobacco satisfaction if you’re willing to experience it. There was a point I might have decided to not like it but overall I have to say I did. These might come in handy for times when around those who don’t enjoy the more traditional cigar’s bouquet and they leave a pleasant taste in your mouth. Kudos for the imagination to market these things in the face conventionalist’s, I fell for it and with no regrets. I can imagine cigar smokers would be split on these but I understand they enjoy a loyal following.

Here’s an easy to use reference showing the current federal tax on assorted commercial tobacco products, the new S-CHIP effects, and the overall percentage increase.  The chart helps illustrate the unbalanced taxation schedule for various tobacco products.  A quick study will show the discrepency between one form of tobacco and all the rest as being singularily picked for an exhorbitant and especially brutal tax.  The RYO tax increase shown is NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE NOR A TYPO!

Exactly why the RYO tobacco industry and it’s consumers are expected to bear the brunt of the S-CHIP’s proposed tax increase has yet to be made clear.  Several RYO manufacturers have already announced their intentions to close effective March 31st,  2009.  How any remaining companies plan to bear such a dramatic and uneven tax is a mystery.  The secretive way in which the bill was passed and it’s effects ingnored by the media leaves many RYO users in the dark.  Many won’t realize the effects of the bill until April 1st when attempting to purchase tobacco.

SCHIP Tobacco Tax Rate Increases | RYO Revolution

Many RYO retailers are hoping to clear existing inventory before April 1 to avoid the Floor Tax which marks all current stock immediately taxable and due under the S-CHIP provisions.  Some experts believe the RYO industry’s future is questionable and do not foresee many current companies surviving this onslaught of record high tax legislation.   RYO consumers are up in smoke about this and looking for cheaper alternatives while breaking their piggy banks, trying to stock up before the March 30th deadline.  It’s ironic that one of the resources the less fortunate are using to cope with the economic downturn is evidently being put to rest.  Legitimate US businesses are being destroyed to help support the healthcare of children of fairly well-to-do families, some of whom earn over $80,000.00 annually and even those of illegal aliens.

When asked how this will affect smoking behaviors, some RYO consumers relayed that their seeds are already ordered and plan on growing their own tobaccos.  A new hobby might spring for some, but land, skill and time constraints will make this a select few.   While GYO, or Grow Your Own, the smallest and most intensive of the tobacco hobbies, might work for the luckiest and most proficient, few RYOers have the resources nor space available for growing to be a real alternative.

Big Tobacco might expect an increase in market share when frustrated hobbyists and those who can afford to,  turn back to commercially manufactured cigarettes.   While the RYO consumer experienced a record breaking increase in federal tax, commercial cigarettes, pipes, cigars, chew and even snuff tobacco users  experienced only a curiously modest increase.   Insiders claim the cigar lobby threw RYO under the bus but many enthusiasts blame Big Tobacco itself.  Whichever the case, those who cannot afford to pay double or more in retail costs; smokers on fixed income, unemployed, out of work, handicapped, retired and otherwise broke smokers might need to finally give the old habit the boot.   For many of these people however, the prohibitive costs of cessation aids will make quitting an arduous, long and uncomfortable process.

Chart illustrating the inequities of the new S-CHIP bill as it’s applied to various tobacco products. Some experts say the current revision of the S-CHIP bill will likely destroy the RYO industry in the US and leave the poorest class of tobacco users in the cold. Ironic that the bill heralded to fund children’s healthcare for Americans earning up to $83K per annum is being placed squarely on the shoulder’s of America’s poorest citizens.  As anyone can plainly see, these figures are a bit askew against RYO by about 2,000%!

SCHIP Tobacco Tax Rate Increases | RYO Revolution

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) illustrates the greed and hypocrisy of the anti-tobacco movement.  This bill clearly exposes the inequities of the reforms they initiate and support.   SCHIP proposes to increase the already immoral taxes on tobacco and cigarettes to a rate never before seen in a civilized nation on one single product.

This immoral bill is disguised as an aid to the children to make it appealing to voters who don’t care to learn what’s inside, like the original Trojan Horse.  This will disproportionately affect one of the of the lowest income class of citizens to obscene proportions.  SCHIP intends to rely on the funding from an already ailing class of taxpayers who average only $35K a year to subsidize the health insurance burden for children of other people who earn up to $82K.

Another ludicrous facet of this is the proposal to incorporate an additional tax on RYO or roll-your-own products.   Many RYO consumers live at or below poverty level, many are living with no roof and no job.   S-CHIP will force the the poverty stricken to resort to re-stuffing butts found on the streets, theft, panhandling and worse.   The impoverished addicts will use means necessary to fulfill their addiction.

This anything goes when you stamp it; “For the children!” excuse has got to stop.  Current tobacco taxes ironically fund supporters of this and similar anti-smoking legislation.  SCHIP and it’s supporters intend to lawfully steal from the poor to give to the rich in this milestone of economic prejudice.  Smokers pay 100% of SCHIP ,  maintain 3rd class status with segregation and discrimination, immoral inflation and no or little health insurance.  Hows that for irony, slave away for others while having no means for benefits themselves.  Cigars are not at risk for near the same massive tax increase.