Revolution, Syria and Tobacco: A Storied History

Latakia – a word very familiar to the pipe smoker’s ear – is the principle port city of Syria, located on the country’s north-west Mediterranean coast.

The city has found a permanent spot in the news lately, with gunmen still loyal to the Assad regime holing up in the mountains and launching violent reprisals against the Alawites and other communities living there.

Turmoil in the region has roots all the way back in 2011, when discontent with the Ba'athist regime spilled over into large-scale protests, pro-democracy rallies, and revolution.

Incidentally, 2011 was also around the time commercial production and export of Latakia’s unique, eponymous tobacco dried up; though civil unrest and land destruction were not the only contributing factors. Supply of Latakia tobacco had been in decline for decades, as a result of overharvesting, local government restrictions, and a devastating blue mould attack.

What is Latakia tobacco?

Pipe smokers may skip this part, but for the uninitiated (and curious)…

Latakia refers to a method of processing (what connoisseurs call) Oriental tobacco – a small-leaved variety of the nicotine-producing plant, grown mainly in the eastern Mediterranean.

To compliment the Oriental leaf’s redolent quality, Latakia processing involves hanging hands of the tobacco (bunches, to the layman) in the rafters of a barn or enclosed space, above a smouldering fire. This method is known as fire curing, though Latakia specifically is characterised by the presence of hardwoods, resinous softwoods, and aromatics in the fuel – including oak, pine, and robust spices. The resulting flavour is reminiscent of an incense stick.

To this day, Latakia (though predominantly produced in Cyprus) is a key element in many pipe tobaccos, and characterises a family of blends – favoured by the likes of Albert Einstein, Bing Crosby, C.S. Lewis, Joseph Stalin, J.R.R. Tolkien, and William Faulkner – known as English blends.

Once again, tobacco transcends political orientation...

A re-emerging export?

Despite fighting, skirmishes, and mass displacements continuing to plague the city of Latakia, on 1 May 2025 the French shipping titan, CMA CGM, secured a 30-year deal to operate the port. The company's regional director said he plans to expand the port and deepen its basin, so that larger ships and more trade can be accommodated.

With the region's unrest having (hopefully) peaked - and Europe improving its relations with the HTS-led interim government (the UK recently lifted asset freezes on 24 Syrian defence ministry bodies) - might there be ground for the original Latakia tobacco to re-surface?

To pipe smokers, I would say the answer is probably: No, not in its traditional form. Much of Syria’s hardwood forests have been decimated and the processing knowledge has all but evaporated.

For now, the embattled and valiant people of Syria must focus on sponsoring the formation of a pluralist, democratic government; with an independent judiciary and freedom of expression – unshackled from the yoke of Russian influence.