In Your Personal Opinion, is Inhaling Wrong or Acceptable?
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That's not something really anyone but you can decide. It's not like stealing. We all know stealing is wrong and not personal opinion, but everything except certain facts are completely up to the smoker. The only sure fired right and wrong are that it's right to smoke pipe tobacco in a device meant for pipe tobacco, you must light it and set it on fire some how to smoke it, and then you must pull on the pipe tobacco smoking device to keep it going. That's about it for what's "right".
What you smoke it in, how you light it, what you light it with, what tobacco you choose, how much to dry it, how tightly or loosely to pack it, how much puffing you need to do, how long it smokes for, when and how hard to tamp it, whether or not to inhale are all choices left up to the individual.
Personally, it's wrong for me. I've inhaled it on accident a few times and it wasn't very pleasant. I mean, when you're smoking something strong like Black Frigate and the minute you breathe in after expelling a big puff of smoke, the wind blows it back in your face, it's a completely unexpected thing. Maybe because it was unexpected and not intentional, it was rougher, but I did not enjoy it. I want to enjoy my pipe smoking, not grimace at the very thought.
What you smoke it in, how you light it, what you light it with, what tobacco you choose, how much to dry it, how tightly or loosely to pack it, how much puffing you need to do, how long it smokes for, when and how hard to tamp it, whether or not to inhale are all choices left up to the individual.
Personally, it's wrong for me. I've inhaled it on accident a few times and it wasn't very pleasant. I mean, when you're smoking something strong like Black Frigate and the minute you breathe in after expelling a big puff of smoke, the wind blows it back in your face, it's a completely unexpected thing. Maybe because it was unexpected and not intentional, it was rougher, but I did not enjoy it. I want to enjoy my pipe smoking, not grimace at the very thought.
I wouldn't habitually or frequently inhale pipe tobacco. I was a cigarette smoker and I tend to inhale a little. I wouldn't do a direct lung hit. Certain blends are really rough on the lungs and have even made me sick. I think if you're smoking a non-aro burley or Va/Burley blend that it's more like a cigarette. It will feel like inhaling 2, 3 or 4 cigarettes at once instead of one. So, proceed with caution. It doesn't enhance pipe smoking IMO, but I enjoy doing a slow, shallow inhale 1-3 times with my AM or PM coffee.
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
SP, I had to look that up. I thought it was Sartre, but it's Shakespeare. Good one. Thank you.
SP, I had to look that up. I thought it was Sartre, but it's Shakespeare. Good one. Thank you.
Its your tobacco, you can do whatever you want with it.^^
But with pipes I would presume that inhaling migth overheat the bowl more easily as you take deeper breaths and the tobacco in general is more acidic then normal cigarett tobacco so it is rather rough on the lungs.
But with pipes I would presume that inhaling migth overheat the bowl more easily as you take deeper breaths and the tobacco in general is more acidic then normal cigarett tobacco so it is rather rough on the lungs.
Inhaling pipe tobacco is not something I chose to do because it has even greater health risks. Then again, I sometimes choose to have an alcohol drink while smoking a pipe. Drinking alcohol apparently increases the health risk of smoking exponentially (not just linearly).
In summary: whatever floats your boat, tickles your fancy, and butters your biscuit.
In summary: whatever floats your boat, tickles your fancy, and butters your biscuit.
As far as bad or acceptable - I say it's up to the individual. Like Bill Clinton, I smoke but don't inhale. Unlike Bill Clinton, I'm faithful to my wife. 
I have several years of cigarettes in my past but I do not inhale from the pipe. I understand the desire for the throat feeling. Pipes actually hurt my throat, though. I am sure I wouldn't inhale even if they didn't, though. Nicotine and throat-hit are not things I use the pipe for personally. It's more of a ritual of enjoyment that includes admiring the actual pipe, admiring the tobacco, enjoying the smell, and the feeling of satisfaction when the bowl is finished. I find it interesting that one of my favorite carvers, Hans Former Nielsen, appears to inhale quite a bit based on what I've seen in an interview video.
I think it is as is always said here, that however you enjoy it, is the right way.
I think it is as is always said here, that however you enjoy it, is the right way.
Freedom of choice, I'm sure. Most don't enjoy drawing pipe smoke into their lungs, and that is a magnifier of health hazard with cigarettes, I believe. A number here enjoy retro-haling, moving the smoke through their nasal passages. I can taste my food quite well without conducting it through my nasal passages, so I don't, but some devoted pipe smokers consider it standard. Make your own assessment and proceed accordingly.
Ha! But, yeah, smoking indoors certainly makes the whole business a whole lot easier. One doesn't really need much technique, understanding of the best ways to prep, and pack since smoking indoors one is siting in a cloud of smoke, inhaling and smelling it. The room note will pretty well make up for one's technical deficiencies, except for those practices that physically destroy one's pipe, like using a torch to light it.But, but, but... ...what about the delicious room note?
To get a good smoke outdoors, one really needs to know proper tobacco moisture levels since that's the biggest factor in getting all the flavors a blend has to offer outdoors. Then one really needs to understand packing and cadence in a continually altering environment. There's no room note (big cloud of smoke) to make up for mediocre technique.
Nope. Mostly the great outdoors. But being primarily an outdoor smoker offers me a perspective not offered to indoor only smokers, especially on those occasions when I'm enjoying an indoor smoke. :Wow, you must only go inside really small rooms, ha ha. ::
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Inhaling pipe smoke or cigars means taking more risks in an already risky hobby for me, my goal is to enjoy smoking while remaining away from health issues.
I was a pretty heavy cigarette smoker, and was still smoking cigarettes when I began smoking a pipe. I began by not inhaling pipe smoke as it just didn't seem natural to do so. It's certainly unnecessary, as the nicotine in pipe smoke is absorbed by the membranes or whatchamacallits in the mouth. Of course, I don't believe there is any true right or wrong in how you do it, as it's your pipe, your tobacco, do as you please. I also think, that if I DID see another pipe smoker inhaling away on their smoke, I'd probably think, "what a noob!" :mrgreen:
It's not wise but I'll be the last person to stop you.
I think the fact that almost nobody inhales pipe smoke on purpose is another big reason. It can be done but it is not really the best experience if smoked in that way. Slowly savouring the smoke through your mouth and nasal passages will be the route most people take. I don't think your supercharged methods have much staying power - you would probably reconsider it in the long run if you consistently inhaled Irish Flake for a week. Captain Black is like steam in comparison to some stronger blends out there...
Increased risk of lung cancer is the big one.
I think the fact that almost nobody inhales pipe smoke on purpose is another big reason. It can be done but it is not really the best experience if smoked in that way. Slowly savouring the smoke through your mouth and nasal passages will be the route most people take. I don't think your supercharged methods have much staying power - you would probably reconsider it in the long run if you consistently inhaled Irish Flake for a week. Captain Black is like steam in comparison to some stronger blends out there...
My simplistic response is that cigarettes is all about the nicotine hit, whereas pipes and cigars are all about flavour.
(Of course, you do take in some nicotine with pipes and cigars, but the buzz is not the main reason some of us smoke them).
(Of course, you do take in some nicotine with pipes and cigars, but the buzz is not the main reason some of us smoke them).
If I got more flavor from inhaling, I would inhale till my lungs bled. However I get absolutely no flavor from inhaling my pipe so I never do it.
Someone else already stated it I believe but pipe tobacco was not meant to be inhaled from what my research has gathered. It's a lot different from cigarettes. I've luckily never inhaled off my pipe so I can't tell you my experience with that but I did once off a cigar by accident and thought my lungs were going to revolt against me. I just like the tastes of pipe tobacco and the whole process of smoking a pipe. Its relaxing. So I wouldn't go so far as to say inhaling is wrong, I just don't think there's any benefit to it. Plus the health aspects that have already been covered.
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