They Huffed and They Puffed but They Were Smoked by the Record

The dream of 59 would-be world champions went up in smoke at the Marriott Hotel in Westchester.

The scene: an annual pipe-smoking competition. The challenge: to keep 3.3 grams of tobacco lit more than 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds--the world record according to Richard Hacker, spokesman for the Tinder Box International contest, held last month. (According to the 1985 Guinness Book of World Records, the record is 2 hours, 6 minutes and 39 seconds.)

Following the rules of the International Assn. of Pipe Smokers Clubs of Great Britain, each smoker was provided with two matches, a new pipe, a pipe cleaner and a tamper to pack the tobacco.

Not Easy to Do

The trick was to keep the tobacco burning in the bowl without relighting it. That is not an easy task with a new pipe and harsh tobacco in a ballroom full of people trying to outlast you, said Cindy Ensminger, last year’s winner in the women’s division.

Ensminger, of North Little Rock, Ark., said she was too nervous this year to match her last year’s winning time of 49 minutes, 4 seconds.

“I was trying to keep the tamp down but then if you lump it too much it will go out,” she said. Keeping the tobacco at an even level as it burns is the secret to maintaining a long smoke. The taste of the tobacco, called cube straight burley, also affected her performance, Ensminger said. “It didn’t taste good,” she said.

She said burley is usually blended with other tobaccos, but the rules specify smoking it straight.

The cloud that slowly filled the room drove away some spectators, but to the sponsor of the contest, the odor was the sweet smell of success.

“It smells like money to us,” said Gary Blumenthal, president of Tinder Box International, a retail pipe and tobacco franchise chain that was holding its 20th annual convention at the hotel near Los Angeles International Airport. Of the 400 Tinder Box store owners and managers who attended, 50 men and 9 women joined in the ninth annual contest.

The golden monkey, the trophy for the first person to drop out of the contest, was awarded to Traci Newburn of Northridge, who never quite crossed the starting line. She blew out her match by mistake. Newburn manages a shop in Northridge, but is not a regular pipe smoker. “I just play with it in the store,” she said.

Winner Reveals Method

In less than an hour the winner in the women’s division was declared. Suzette Sullivan of Encino, who manages stores in El Paso, Tex., and Fresno, said the trick was to blow through the pipe very lightly to keep the fire burning.

Although Sullivan smoked for 52 minutes, she said she did not feel dizzy because, like most pipe smokers, she does not inhale.

“My heart starts beating faster, but it calms me down,” she said.

The men’s runner-up, Jim Harringer of DeWitt, N.Y., agreed that smoking a pipe is a relaxing pastime. But he exchanged his pipe for cigarettes about seven years ago, he said.

“It just was inconvenient to smoke a pipe in some places,” Harringer said. “But if my children were going to smoke, I’d tell them to smoke a pipe.” Several of the pipe smokers claimed that smoking a pipe can actually add years to a person’s life by reducing tension.

The men’s champion, Steve Oatts, who smoked 15 minutes longer than his nearest competitor, placidly enjoyed his pipe despite the pressure to break the world record.

Oatts said concentration was the key to his victory, which came after 1 hour, 30 minutes and 39 seconds, far short of the record, when his tobacco burned out.

“If you’re not thinking, it will go out,” said Oatts, of Goodletsville, Tenn. “When I knew I was coming (to the contest) I practiced for a couple of weeks.”

Oatts said he smoked as slowly as possible and tried to keep his throat cool by drinking water during the competition.

Oatts said he smokes about four bowls of tobacco per day and occasionally a cigar. His own pipe is imported from Denmark and is worth about $700, he said.

Oatts and Sullivan were each awarded $250 for besting the other smokers.

Not all the contestants walked away with a smile.

The all-time Tinder Box record holder, Bill Scroggins of Mobile, Ala., became sick and was wheeled from the ballroom, his pale green face in his hands. But his record of one hour, 46 minutes and 28 seconds, remained intact.

Despite an ungraceful exit from the contest, Scroggins was reported to be in good condition at the Marriott the next day, still smoking his pipe.