US
US media reports suggest that sales of pipe tobacco in the US are skyrocketing, yet without a corresponding spike in pipe smoking popularity.
It appears that cigarette smokers are turning to pipe tobacco in order to avoid higher taxes, but rather than use the pipe tobacco as intended, smokers use it to roll their own cigarettes as the tax rate on pipe tobacco is only US$2.83 per pound. The new trend started in April 2009 when a federal excise tax went into effect, increasing from 39 cents to US$1.01 per pack.
This is considered by many as a tax loophole and some representatives in the US Congress want to address the issue. As yet, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) hasn’t come up with an enforceable rule that distinguishes between types of loose tobacco, and smokers are still able to benefit from the loophole up until now.
