@Pat McDonald 556316 wrote:

Ah, now you know the secret…

I quit gaspers in 2009 due to the cost and health concerns but in those days especially hand rolling and pipe tobacco was was sold in metal tins ideal for storing small components (and making screened boxes for audio and RF kit). in the Post Office/BT not only could you smoke in the staff room (not allowed in battery rooms due to explosion risk nor in equipment rooms as smoke might knacker the equipment).

Also in the 1970s the Dutch Government raised the taxes on manufactured cigarettes but not hand rolling tobacco, so encouraging more folk to “roll their own” (also transferrable skills to other smoking mixtures..)

I nearly considered getting a pipe quite recently but decided against it as one of my older friends spent a fair time in Addenbrookes (he checked out clear and he has quit recently and he is our dads age group..) and all the other lot seem to have season tickets to the local NHS units..