Do cobs absorb nicotine
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If you're asking whether corncob pipes somehow reduce the nicotine level of the blend you're smoking, my unscientific answer has to be "no more than any other kind of pipe." If they were especially absorbent, a corncob pipe would turn to mush after a tin or two. (My guess would be that meerschaum would actually be the most absorbent pipe material.) And while, scientifically, nicotine might be absorbed at a different rate from all of the other compounds in burning pipe tobacco, I can't imagine it making any significant difference in the smoke.
Bob
Bob
Follow-up question:
The Medico paper filters that came with my MM cob specifically says on the box "Throw away Nicotine" and "When filter turns brown, throw it away with the nicotine it has collected".
Is there any evidence that the filter removes nicotine? Or does it just remove moisture, and the rest is marketing?
The Medico paper filters that came with my MM cob specifically says on the box "Throw away Nicotine" and "When filter turns brown, throw it away with the nicotine it has collected".
Is there any evidence that the filter removes nicotine? Or does it just remove moisture, and the rest is marketing?
I'd say, that the smoke droplets, which are soaked up by the filter, contain nicotine, so the marketing is not completely wrong, but the same applies to the moisture, which condenses in the stem of a non filter pipe, which can be removed by a pipe cleaner. Should we market pipe cleaners as nicotine removal devices? As there are no studies (to my knowledge), which are about the nicotine content of pipe tobacco(s), everything is possible. We just don't know.
My guess, is yes, it does absorb some nicotine, but I'll bet you that it absorbs more condensation than anything. Saying that it pulls nicotine out is just playing to the antis, IMO. "Look a 'safer' pipe." Phhht.
From observation, I'd say cob pipes, and other pipes, don't absorb and collect any nicotine that would
combine with a next smoke and have any effect. I say this because I have smoked high-test nic blends
like the old Nightcap and Five Brothers in various pipes, and then settled down with those same pipes
with mild blends, with absolutely no residual effect from the nicotine. It seems to me, the nicotine is
liberated in the smoke, but has no lingering presence after that.
combine with a next smoke and have any effect. I say this because I have smoked high-test nic blends
like the old Nightcap and Five Brothers in various pipes, and then settled down with those same pipes
with mild blends, with absolutely no residual effect from the nicotine. It seems to me, the nicotine is
liberated in the smoke, but has no lingering presence after that.
Lets see? I'm going with a big YES! Corn cobs are porous, wood is porous, one could only assume that they could and would absorb things. Nic, tar, moisture may all get absorbed into them (look at an old briar pipe, how they can darken) but I would also assume that the amount would not be noticed at all by the smoker. We could always send one in for testing! But then that may just the anti smokers some more fuel. Scratch that idea..
I would assume the cob, or a filter for that matter, probably don't absorb any more nicotine than a cigarette filter would.
I expect that corn cobs don't absorb as much nicotine than you might think. I know that when we bore out the chambers in our heirloom Indian corn cob bowls, we find that the cobs are very dense. Our drill bits will drill through a piece of pine wood like a knife cutting through butter, but the same bits show significant resistance as they bore through the cob. While the central pith tends to be somewhat soft, the sidewalls are extremely dense. Most of the softer pith is drilled out during the boring process so other than a small amount of pith left at the bottom of the bowl, the remaining sidewalls are of the denser material. However, if you drill too close to the edge then you can drill through the denser material and into the porous exterior of the cob. It's for that reason we use special lights to light up the interior of the bowl during our inspection process and if we see any "light spots" or pin holes of light showing through the side of the bowl, then the bowl fails inspection and is discarded.
I can't see it taking out much more than the cake on a briar. I saw a youtube video of someone cutting an well smoked cob in half and the layer of tar and stuff did not go very far through the walls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxkLCbQ0gs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxkLCbQ0gs
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