....am considering vacuum packing cig's as an additional bartering tool, but only after my family and food shelves are protected..quote]
You probably know this already, but if your going to vacuum pack cig's do it in a jar/can or the papers will get mangled. Might be best, just to buy the "fixin's", loose tobacco in the tin and papers, and maybe a cigarette machine. If the smokers are desperate enough the will smoke anything. 😉

If you watch the garage or farm sales, you can pick up pipes for next to nothing, and you can get some really pretty tobacco plants to grow in your front yard now, and do a little practise on drying them and voila, you can offer some for trade and no papers required.. Just a thought.. Ah, I am drawing a blank on the herb catalog place here in ontario.. but they sell a couple different kinds that I have tried and I have yet to have anyone figure out what they are, they just think its a pretty plant.

Farmgal,
I would love to hear more about your tobacco plants.
How long from seed to harvest, conditions needed to grow well, etc...

Ya, I'm a filthy stinky smoker!

Also, I would love to find out if anyone has tried growing coffee. I know it would have to be an artificial environment, but maybe someone has been able to do it indoors.

Ya, I'm a coffee addict too!

http://www.richters.com/

I am about to head out the door for a bit but here is the place I got them from.. and I will get back to you with more info later today..

Richters is awesome...they have everything you can imagine and more.

However, I kind of have to say that...im related. 😉

For the coffee addicts, look into Camps coffee subsitute. Its chicory/coffee mixture, or go straight chicory (roast peeled roots, and grind). Not as good as coffee but in hard times it was used alot.