Smokers Saving with Home-Grown Tobacco

One Collin County smoker has turned an expensive habit into a hobby. Bob Kemp says he avoids paying taxes on his cigarettes by growing his own tobacco.

The 52-year-old retired computer engineer maintains a crop of about 200 to 250 tobacco plants and cures the leaves in his house. He said he can make about two packs of cigarettes per day for a year.

Kemp figures the cost of making his own cigarettes averages out to about $3 per pound, which is cheaper than most packs of cigarettes.

He can't sell his smokes, but Kemp does sell seeds and plants online and at local flea markets. And he encourages other tobacco lovers to get involved in his homemade hobby.