Pipe Smoker of the Year

Pipe Smoker of the Year was an award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers' Council, to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual. Initiated in 1965 as Pipeman of the Year by the Briar Pipe Trade Association, it was presented at a lunch in London's Savoy Hotel each January. The award was discontinued in 2004 because its organisers feared it fell foul of laws banning all advertising and promotion of tobacco.[1]

The award was briefly reintroduced in 2014, by the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs, at the British Pipe Smoking Championship at Newark Showground. In a departure from previous awards the recipient was not a celebrity, but the outgoing President of the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs Brian Mills, in recognition for his personal contribution in recommencing the British Pipe Smoking Championships.[2]

Pipe Smokers of the Year

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Notes

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  1. ^ Warren Mitchell did not accept his award, calling it "silly". "I smoke a pipe; I also use a lavatory brush. By the same token you could make me 'lavatory brush man of the year.'" The Guardian 13 January 1968
  2. ^ Until 1972 the award was made for the pipe smoker of the previous year; from 1973 onwards it was for the forthcoming year. Manny Shinwell, who held the award throughout 1972, was subsequently listed as the "1971/1972" winner.
  3. ^ Edward Fox accepted his award but declined the prize of three pipes and a quantity of his favourite tobacco and asked for the cash value, about £100, to be sent to help Cambodian refugees. The Times 25 January 1980

References

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  1. ^ Thompson, Jonathan (18 January 2004). "Annual pipe-smoker award is extinguished". The Independent. Independent News and Media. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Brian Mills Pipe Smoker of the Year 2014". CIPC. 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Harold Wilson Did Have a Top Secret MI File". Town & Country. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Interview: Brian Barnes". Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  5. ^ "David Bryant obituary". The Times. 27 June 2023. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. ^ Murray, Scott (6 December 2013). "The Joy of Six: smoking sports stars". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ "And the Pipe Smoker of the Year for 2003 is..." BBC News. 17 January 2002. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  8. ^ "Fry lights up pipe-smoking award". Irish Examiner. 27 February 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2023.