As anti-smoking fervor spreads like kudzu through the country it’s becoming more and more difficult to find places where you can spark up your briar pipe and enjoy a bowl. But it can’t be this way everywhere in the world, can it? We set out to discover those places where tobacco pipes are not shunned and where you can still sit back after a good meal or over a drink and have a smoke. If you are a pipe smoker who also likes to travel we hope you’ll enjoy our list.

Cities Where Tobacco Pipes are Still Welcome

New York

Believe it or not, there are still bars in New York - one of the epicenters of the anti-smoking movement - where you can smoke your pipe without worrying. That's because the city's indoor smoking ban comes with a considerable loophole known as the "Cigar Bars Exception". Basically, if a bar opened before 2001 and it receives at least 10% of its revenue from tobacco sales patrons are allowed to smoke. You can bet that the anti-smoking cabal is working tirelessly to eliminate this exemption. But for now, it stands.

Las Vegas

Sin City is one of the few American cities where smoking indoors is still allowed in many places. Most notably in almost all large casinos. Why? Because gambling is the engine that makes Vegas go, and a lot of gamblers are also cigarette, cigar, and pipe smokers. Casino owners reasoned that if smoking were banned on casino floors fewer people would come to the city. Instead, they'd stay home and gamble online. As a result, you can still smoke cigarettes, cigars, and briar pipes in most casinos.

Cairo

Smoking is part of the Egyptian lifestyle and banning it outright would certainly lead to the kind of social upheaval the government is anxious to avoid. As a result, you can smoke your pipe just about anywhere in Cairo without fear. The only exceptions are government buildings which make up only a tiny fraction of the buildings in one of the world's largest cities. That said, the Egyptian capital, while not openly hostile to Westerners, can be quite dodgy in places. So it might be wise to be selective about where you fire up your briar, as it will make you stick out.

Numerous Cities in China

There are as many smokers in China as there are people in the entire United States. That’s 350 million if you were wondering. Trying to get that many people to give up their cigarettes, cigars, and pipes is no easy task and in many large cities smoking goes on as it has for much of the past century. While cities such as Shanghai have attempted to implement complete indoor smoking bans, compliance has been spotty, and since the fine for indoor smoking is as low as about $7 many people are willing to take the chance.

Tokyo

Perhaps surprisingly you can still smoke in many areas of the Japanese capital. Smoking is also widely permitted in cities like Osaka and Kyoto. That means cigarettes, cigars and yes, tobacco pipes. While most pipe smoking in Japan is done using the traditional kiseru pipe, there are still plenty of fans of Western-style smoking pipes. So many that there are pipe clubs spread throughout the country that celebrate briar and meerschaum pipes.

Havana

For a few years, it was pretty easy to travel to Havana. But that's changed recently. Still, if you manage to acquire a visa and find yourself walking the sun-splashed streets of the Cuban capital amidst the classic cars you'll find few (if any) restaurants, cafes, or other places where your pipe is unwelcome. Yes, the country instituted (in theory anyway) a total ban on smoking in public places in 2005. But enforcement of the measure is said to range from rare to nonexistent.

Jakarta (and all of Indonesia)

Tobacco is a huge part of the Indonesian economy. Many farmers rely on growing tobacco for their livelihood, the cigarette industry employs 100s of thousands of Indonesians and many of the country’s most powerful politicians profit mightily (though discreetly) from the tobacco industry. As a result, you can smoke just about anywhere except hospitals and government buildings. So tourists who fire up briar pipes while strolling through Batavia Old Town can do so knowing no one is going to bother them.

Athens

In theory, Athens banned smoking in public places more than 15 years ago. In practice, few bars and cafes care whether you smoke or not. Some even provide an ashtray on every table. Nearly 40% of adults in Greece smoke so you'll be hard-pressed to find politicians willing to put their careers on the line by insisting that smoking bans are enforced. Instead, everyone looks the other way which is good news if you want to enjoy a bowl after visiting the Parthenon.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam led the way in being tolerant of marijuana smokers, but those days seem to be coming to an end. Regulations are being drawn up that will limit weed sales and smoking to Dutch citizens only, likely sending traveling stoners to places like Bangkok, which recently decriminalized marijuana. That said, whether you’re a Dutch citizen or not you can still fire up meerschaum pipes outdoors in most places, although not indoors.

We hope you find this list helpful when planning your next vacation. In the meantime for one of the best selections of retail and wholesale tobacco pipes anywhere check out the Paykoc Pipes online store.