Newsbiscuit.com is reporting in this posting that a recent British statistical survey has shown that  for the first time in the history of these studies, the usage of Crack Pipes is not outpacing the usage of Tobacco Pipes!

The end of the civilized world is near! Of course the survey resorts to rash generalizations about the type of person who smokes a tobacco pipe:

Old fashioned pipes are still popular with certain types of older bearded men; model railway enthusiasts, canal barge restorers and the like, but curiously these tend to be among the least likely people to head into the inner cities to score crack cocaine off their dealer.

We've actually been finding at the Barn that more and more younger, college age men (and women) are not succumbing to the lure of the glass pipe but are coming in and learning the finer points of Briar and Meerschaum!

Ann Widdecombe, a Minister of Parliment, has used this to decry something that we've been passionate about all along. This is just another example of political correctness run amuk: government is too busy cracking down LEGAL smoking of tobacco products like pipes and cigars when they should be working harder to address issues revolving around the sale, acquisition and use of crack and other illegal drugs. Finally a politician that "gets it!"