Smoking in other countries

In England, certain bars and restaurants still allow smoking, otherwise same laws as in the USA

Traveled and visited quite a bit in the Caribbean. Never seen a tobacco pipe smoker, but found a limited supply of pipe tobacco in the Dominican Republic.

My over generalized experience: The Chinese like plentiful cheap cigarettes in rice paper, Eastern Europeans like expensive flavored cigs, the Northern French and Benelux countries bum cigs when they drink (a lot of Lucky Strike), the Souther French smoke Galousies, the UK use a lot of roll-your-own, the Japanese and the GCC countries have similar small wooden pipes for strong local mixtures, Arabs like Malboro Reds and Golds but smoke a lot of hookah/nargela/shisha as a social thing, Southern Indians and Indonesians smoke weird hand rolled flavored (cloves etc) sort-of-cigs, Northern Indians smoke long cigs, Americans like chew more than anyone else, Carribean basin is very cigar friendly, Scandanavians use snus, East Africans chew chat, West Africans chew kola nuts, Afrikaaners pipe smoke more than average, and South American women seem to smoke more than men (only place I've felt this). Every where the number of non-users out paces the number of users.

Stanhill good to know, thanks.

You're most welcome.

As an American living in New Zealand I find most kiwis roll their own cigarettes and vape to counter the exorbitant tobacco taxes. In NZ a 50 gram tin of pipe tobacco is around $100 New Zealand dollars or about $70 US dollars. I believe 50 grams is about 1.5 ounces. In America the equivalent tin might cost you $10-$20 US dollars. Part of the reason is to reduce medical costs for the public health system. However it's my understanding that the taxes on smokers more than pay for whatever medical costs they incur. Next up for the nanny state, a sugar and salt and carbohydrate and inactivity tax? Don't get me wrong, I like it here, but there are fewer liberties.

Thanks. Can anyone recommend a "desert island blend" cause that's where I'm at. :-)

Just to give you an idea, these are my choices. Weird blends at exorbitant prices.

www.canteros.nz
www.discountt.co.nz

I've lived in Japan for 13 years now and have seen another pipe smoker in public only once. It was in a restaurant. I smelled something wonderful. Looked around and saw an older gentleman smoking a bent pipe. I guess that experience is what first got me interested in pipe smoking.

Most here smoke those toxic sticks called nails, or very rarely a machine-rolled cigar. Those that do smoke cigarettes are mostly older or elderly men. I rarely see younger Japanese smoking anything. Ironically, by my house there is a cigarette machine located on the sidewalk just a block down the street from a high school. It's one of those older machines that don't require an ID. It even proudly says 'No ID Required!' in big writing on it. Lol.

Japan is still fairly tolerant of smoker's rights, but that is slowly beginning to change. One can still smoke inside most bars (and many restaurants), but again, that is slowly changing- especially in the larger cities. WHO has been pressuring the Japanese government for years, and it looks like they are finally taking heed- especially since they want to be seen as modern and 'progressive' during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Laws are being passed in Tokyo which will ban indoor smoking in most establishments.

If you live in a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, you should be within reasonable train distance of a shop that sells pipe tobacco. If not, you can always buy from a Japanese shop online and have it shipped to you. I'm guessing that since you mentioned military, you'll be stationed in Okinawa. There might be shops close to your base that sell pipe tobacco. I really don't know. If you need a Japanese online shop recommendation, just message me. 4Noggins also ships to Japan, but with the exchange rate, shipping costs, and the chances of Customs catching it, the small savings might not be worth it. It's probably better to order online and support local shops in Japan.