Out of the Humidor: The sad demise of pipe smoking

[DominusTecum]

My dad died of lung cancer when I was 8 years old from years of smoking cigarettes, so I feel your pain, Michaelson...

A couple of observations of my own float to mind, though. First, if a man has a vice of some kind, and if it is to be smoking, it's probably better that it be cigars or pipes than cigarettes, because of the smell. I can think of a lot worse habits one could have, really. Second, studies have shown that pipe smokers live, on average, 3 years longer than non-smokers. So if something will do me in one of these days, it may as well be a pipe as excessive liquor, women, or other things. Pipes smell and taste good, and are relaxing. My school is pretty rigorous, and sometimes I think I'd go insane if I couldn't relax with my pipe every so often.

I can certainly respect your decision not to smoke, though, it's definitely not for everyone.

 

[Michaelson]

No, I don't drink. Not sure I understand your point, redpop4.

I guess until you've stood by the bed of a loved one for several hours, watch them take their last breath, then having to wake your Mom who had fallen asleep next to his bed to let her know he was gone, you have no clue what I'm talking about. The ONLY reason we were there in the first place was due to the choice he made to smoke I hoped you'd have more of an idea this 'observation' was offered as a concern for folks I considered friends. Was I wrong? I'm sorry. I can delete my post and move on. No problem.

My decision not to smoke was made 27 years ago when I first saw our first born daughter, and thought, 'I need to be around for her'. I was a 50+ cigar a week smoker at the time. It had nothing to do with what my Dad was doing.

Like I said, it's a matter of choice. I condemn no one for what they do. I'm just offering a bit of my personal experience about someone who CAME from that golden era, and where it finally got him. Nothing more.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[RedPop4]

50+ a week? Lordamercy.
I don't think I smoke 50 in a year. Hell, that's two boxes a week. In all my ten years of smoking, and six years of being an AVID smoker (by avid, I mean by reading a great deal about it, and belonging to discussion forums) I've only purchased four boxes. Now I have purchased singles a good bit, but, not that much.

Moderation, self-control is key to enjoying life as opposed to being addicted. I think I have a good handle on things, as do most of the cigar smokers with whom I associate. But to interact with non-smokers, you'd think we were all chimneys intentionally following them around to blow smoke at them. It's as if all common sense has left people.

I'm smoking fewer cigars now that I've taken up pipe smoking; I have an average of two bowls when I smoke a pipe, and that's no more than two nights per week.

 

[Michaelson]

True, and it was the nature of the work I was doing at the time. I was a forms draftsman/technical illustrator at the time. You draft an ink line, put down your ruling pen to wait for the ink to dry, pick up your cigar, puff a bit, put down the cigar, rule a few more lines....put down the pen....etc. etc.

You'd be amazed how quickly you'd go through 10 cigars in a day, working a 5 day week, 12 hours a day. I never smoked at home, or on weekends. Never wanted to, for some odd reason. No cravings at all.

When I decided to quit, I just quit. No desire for another one. I must have been lucky, as it was never an 'addiction', as I just quit and never looked back. [huh]

Regards! Michaelson

 

[DominusTecum]

I've heard that a lot of the addiction is psychological, more of a "what do you do with your hands if they don't have a cigarette?" "What do you do when you take your walk?" type thing. From that I'd guess you were pretty lucky if you could continue drafting without feeling a "need" for those puffs every so often.

Personally, I smoke a bowl at a time (my pipes have largish bowls) and do this with irregularity. Sometimes I smoke a bowl every day for five days, some times I smoke 2 bowls a day for a week, other times I smoke one or two bowls a week, or go without for 2 weeks. It doesn't seem to have an addictive effect, I dunno... *shrug* It's relaxing and helps me to keep from going crazy. Moderation in all things, I believe the expression goes.

Some people can smoke vast quantities of stuff... multiple packs of cigarettes a day for half a century, with no apparent ill effects. I know an old lady who is 96 and smokes like a chimney, and has done so since she was 17. On the other hand, I know men who have smoked heavily for 15 years and gotten cancer from it, or hack and cough so much that it's hard for them to function normally. It's different for everybody I guess.

 

[Michaelson]

You do spend more time fiddling around with a pipe than any other means of smoking, that's for sure. It's one of the reasons I stopped smoking them and went to cigars.....I couldn't keep a pipe lit when prowling around railroad yards at night in Columbus Ohio when I was in college. (don't ask.lol )

I also think a lot more is 'added' to tobacco than there was in the 'golden era''. I have a catalog from the 1970's from the IRC tobacco co. of Chicago, that bragged on the fact their cigarettes contained no phospherous to keep the cigarette burning. Theirs would go out if laid down, just like a cigar!

Phosphorous?! What ELSE is in the factory blends, I wonder?!

Regards! Michaelson

 

[MrPumpernickel]

Phosphorous?! What ELSE is in the factory blends, I wonder?!

Trust me, you don't want to know. Cigarette tobacco is like poison in a stick. Pipe tobacco is by far better, but not without its addatives either. Cigar tobacco may or may not contain such addatives, it depends entirely on the source. However elements such as pesticides for instance are pretty much impossible to escape these days...though that makes me wonder if there's such a thing as "organic tobacco". It's a bit like sausage, it's delicious, but you don't really want to know all the stuff that go in them.

Here's a nice little list of common "ingredients", though you almost have to be a chemist to understand most of the list: http://www.quitsmokingsupport.com/ingredients.htm

 

[Samsa]

Since I am now employed and have some money to smoke, I went to the local tobacconist on Friday and picked up some pipe tobacco - "Churchill's #5." I don't remember the specifics of the blend, but have been enjoying sitting outside in the cool weather puffing away.

 

[dostacos]

I used to smoke cigars [good ones] and pipes, started getting Bronchitis on a regular basis, felt like I was trying to hack up a lung, stopped smoking and solved the Bronchitis problems

I could sit down and have a good cigar, or a bowl or two, but nah

 

[Ecuador Jim]

Try this...

Well, this thread inspired me to get a pipe (pictures forthcoming). Does anyone have any tips on packing the bowl? The gentleman at the smoke shoppe said that packing will be crucial to an enjoyable experience and that it will take much practice.

Regards,

Matt

Here's a link for one way to fill a pipe bowl:
http://www.smokingpipes.com/information/howto/packing.cfm
Enjoy!

 

[Spitfire]

This thread really gave me the inspiration to take up (now and again)pipesmoking again.
But then I remembered why I finally gave it up.

It was so darn complicated. You had to carry not only your pipe - or pipes - around, but also the tobacco, the pipecleaners, the lighter or matches and the stuffer....a whole bag full of smokingequipment, because there were deffinately not room for it in your jacket.
See how easy it is with cigars!
(A cigar, a cutter and a lighter/matchbox)

Any of you gents solved that problem?
Or are you only smoking pipes at home?

 

[Samsa]

This thread really gave me the inspiration to take up (now and again)pipesmoking again.
But then I remembered why I finally gave it up.

It was so darn complicated. You had to carry not only your pipe - or pipes - around, but also the tobacco, the pipecleaners, the lighter or matches and the stuffer....a whole bag full of smokingequipment, because there were deffinately not room for it in your jacket.
See how easy it is with cigars!
(A cigar, a cutter and a lighter/matchbox)

Any of you gents solved that problem?
Or are you only smoking pipes at home?

I generally only smoke pipes at home. However - I think there's a way around it. I have my pipe in a leather case, and there is room in it for a box of matches and a pipe cleaner or two. I believe that they make a device that keeps the tobacco in the pipe once it has been filled. So - fill the pipe with tobacco, fit it in a case, toss a small box of matches, your "tool kit" (i.e. the device you use to tamp down the tobacco), and a pipe cleaner or two in - and you should be all set. It will still be bulkier than a cigar, but not big enough to be really inconvenient.

 

[LocktownDog]

This thread really gave me the inspiration to take up (now and again)pipesmoking again.
But then I remembered why I finally gave it up.

It was so darn complicated. You had to carry not only your pipe - or pipes - around, but also the tobacco, the pipecleaners, the lighter or matches and the stuffer....a whole bag full of smokingequipment, because there were deffinately not room for it in your jacket.
See how easy it is with cigars!
(A cigar, a cutter and a lighter/matchbox)

Any of you gents solved that problem?
Or are you only smoking pipes at home?

Not just at home. Pretty much everywhere I can. But it all of the intricate details in the preparation and cleaning that I enjoy. I find that to be very relaxing (and helps distract from the mundane problems of life itself). Usually when out an about, I try to keep it simple by carrying as little as possible. Lighter, tamper, pouch of baccy, and a couple of cobs or cheaper pipes that wouldn't upset me if lost or broken.

Richard

 

[Orgetorix]

I normally only smoke at home, or when I'm out for a walk in the neighborhood. I have a case like Samsa's that has room for my pipe, cleaners, pipe tool, matches, and half an ounce or so of tobacco. I'll take that with me if I'm going somewhere; otherwise I just pack the pipe before I go out for a walk, and carry the matches and pipe tool in my pocket. That doesn't take up any more room than a cigar, cutter, and lighter. Cleaning happens when I get back home.

And yes, I enjoy the process of filling, lighting, tamping, relighting, smoking, tamping relighting, and so on. It's only annoying when I'm trying to do something else with my hands, and most of the time I'm not smoking then.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This thread really gave me the inspiration to take up (now and again)pipesmoking again.
But then I remembered why I finally gave it up.

It was so darn complicated. You had to carry not only your pipe - or pipes - around, but also the tobacco, the pipecleaners, the lighter or matches and the stuffer....a whole bag full of smokingequipment, because there were deffinately not room for it in your jacket.
See how easy it is with cigars!
(A cigar, a cutter and a lighter/matchbox)

Any of you gents solved that problem?

Yes. Safari jackets and photographer's vests.

.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I smoke mainly at home. When I do take a pipe along, I usually take one of those small leatherette bags, but unless it's a tin of flake tobacco or I repack it into something smaller, the tobacco won't fit in. The other things I take are a tamper, matches, some cleaners and filters, and a collapsible pipe stand - the cheap plastic variety, not the silver one.

My natural inclination is to simply put the pipe in my jacket's right outer pocket, but my other natural inclination is to keep latter from dirt. So I'm probably going to sew a hood or something sooner or later. The small stuff always fits in somewhere, and I'll get a flat pouch for the tobacco.


.

 

[Ada Veen]

I just bought my dad a pipe for his birthday, hope he likes it. He has never smoked one, though he does enjoy the occasional cigar. will find out tomorrow!

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Weird, I had to go look it up...

Second, studies have shown that pipe smokers live, on average, 3 years longer than non-smokers.

"Death rates for current pipe smokers are little if at all higher than for nonsmokers even with men smoking 10 pipefuls per day and with men who had smoked pipes for more than thirty years."
SURGEON GENERALS REPORT
Public Health Service, Publication No. 1103, Page No. 112


"Pipe Smokers who inhale live just as long as nonsmokers. Pipe smokers who don't inhale live longer than nonsmokers." (Death rate 20% less than for nonsmokers)"
SURGEON GENERALS REPORT
Public Health Service, Publication No. 1103, Page No. 92

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Point is (I take it), pipe smokers lead a different lifestyle, more relaxed, balanced and the like. It's not that inhaling pipe smoke as such is healthy.

But still, all the nasty extra stuff they put in cigarettes, including the ingredients that facilitate addiction, aren't added to pipe tobacco - it's just not worth the trouble, if you compare the markets.

 

[WildCelt]

Well, this thread inspired me to get a pipe (pictures forthcoming). Does anyone have any tips on packing the bowl? The gentleman at the smoke shoppe said that packing will be crucial to an enjoyable experience and that it will take much practice.

Regards,

Matt

Here's a nice video for it.