Exhaling through the nose....????

bowler1 · Apr 28, 2014

I have smoked pipes on and off for probably 20 years and the same with cigars. Lately I have been pretty dedicated to smoking pipes and find that I puff and exhale pretty much exclusively through the nose. When I smoked more cigars I puffed and only occasionally exhaled through the nose.
What percentage of the time do you exhale through the nose versus just puff or sip though the mouth?
I much prefer the flavor of exhaling through the nose, but am not sure how good this is for my nasal passages which have tended to be fairly irritated lately (through either allergies or smoking....or both)
thanks

matt

sfsteves · Apr 28, 2014

Whether pipes or cigars, I don't exhale through my nose, but I DO inhale ... BUT, without drawing the smoke into my lungs ... I've heard this described as 'French inhaling' ... take a puff, allow smoke to drift from the mouth and draw it in through the nose, then back out the mouth ...
While this wasn't easy for me to learn to do, it's something I've done without thought or effort for the 40+ years I've been a serious pipe/cigar smoker ... I'm not talking about billowing clouds of smoke, but a relatively low volume of smoke ... I feel it adds considerably to my smoking enjoyment ...

settersbrace · Apr 28, 2014

Sorry Steve but what you have described as "French inhaling" is still in fact inhaling albeit minute amounts compared to say, what a cig smoker would suck into their lungs. What does improve tobacco taste is what I've heard Brian Levine describe as circular breathing. It's simply sipping the the pipe smoke to the back of the mouth and gently blowing out through the nostrils. It's much easier for me to do than it s to describe but with this technique you are not inhaling the smoke into your lungs directly. I say directly because IMO there's no way is pipe and cigar smokers can avoid inhaling smoke, indirectly. Give the circular breathing a try and see if it enhances your smoking pleasure, I know for me it often times allows me to pick up little taste twists that I may have otherwise missed. I also roll my tongue up occasionally when smoking to expose the taste buds on the underside of the tongue. Another tip I picked up on Brian's radio podcast.

beefeater33 · Apr 28, 2014

Bowler-

I almost always exhale through my nose. I think it contributes a lot to the taste of the tobacco. I'm certain that the olfactory system (smell) plays just as big a part on taste as your taste buds-- Try the old "hold your nose and eat something" trick, its hard to determine tastes without your sense of smell. Not sure if its good for you or not?? that's a whole 'nother topic!!

dottiewarden · Apr 29, 2014

Although I've only been smoking a pipe for about 8 months, it has never occurred to me to exhale through the nose. Don't plan on trying it either.
However you smoke, just make sure you're enjoying it as much as you can!

monty55 · Apr 29, 2014

Im new, but I have quickly learned to do a bit of both. While I do not inhale into my lungs, I do draw the smoke into my mouth, and release it in a fashion that lets some (most) out the mouth and some (a little) out of my nose. And about every 3 or 4 draws I will release most all of it out of my nose... because I gives a kick to of all my senses and enhances what I am experiencing from that tobacco.

apatim · Apr 29, 2014

Exhaling through the nose enhances the flavor for me. I don't always exhale through the nose but do so fairly often (probably once every 10 inhales). Periques can burn just slightly when exhaled through the nose. I prefer using this technic with aros and latakia blends.

grouchydog · Apr 29, 2014

After too many years of whisky and an obsession with hot sauce, my tongue is like a strip of dry leather. I pretty much have to "snork" to get any flavor.

settersbrace · Apr 29, 2014

Yeah, blends with high Perique content can start a sneezing jag if I really start to chug on it.

msandoval858 · Apr 29, 2014

I exhale through the nose every few puffs. I find that with both pipes and cigars (same with cigarettes when I used to smoke them), allowing the smoke to pass through the nose really allows me to fully taste the tobacco. With cigars the smoke tends to be more dense and heavy, so a stronger cigar can be a little more irritating on the nose if you aren't careful.

dread · Apr 29, 2014

I exhale through the nose a lot, with some blends almost two thirds of the time. It really brings out the flavor of the tobacco. And yes, with some Perique blends it will get your attention!

layinpipe · Apr 29, 2014

Retrohaling, or opening up the nasal passage at the back of your throat to allow the smoke to pass through your olfactory senses and out your nostrils, allows you to more fully experience the complex array of flavors and nuances in both cigars and pipes. There are plenty of articles you can find on the internet by knowledgeable and credible sources that reaffirm this. Check them out if you get a chance, just google "retrohaling tobacco smoke" or something like that. Many have said that you do not fully enjoy and appreciate the flavors of the smoke without retrohaling.
I tend to agree with these statements from experience and have compared retrohaling the same tobacco for an entire smoke to not retrohaling at all for an entire smoke. There are stark differences in taste and flavor, enough to make up my own mind that retrohaling is a key element to getting the most out of a tobacco blend, whether a cigar or pipe.

cobguy · Apr 29, 2014

Retrohaling, or opening up the nasal passage at the back of your throat to allow the smoke to pass through your olfactory senses and out your nostrils

Exactly! It's not inhaling, which involves the lung, but rather floating the smoke up past

your upper palate and on into the nasal cavity.
I usually prefer the colloquial term "Snorking" as well. lol

With Perique blends I do this A LOT ... but I really like black pepper, horseradish, wasabi, hot mustards, etc.

layinpipe · Apr 29, 2014

cobguy, totally agree with everything you said, lol. Love the burning sensation of some good strong Perique exiting the nostrils. 60% of the time, it works every time. Stings the nostrils.

apatim · Apr 29, 2014

It is a good sting... kind of like wasabi provides! ;-)

phred · Apr 29, 2014

I have yet to try the French Inhale, but I do retrohale occasionally. I still have to think about it, so I tend to just puff and exhale most of the time.

bowler1 · Apr 29, 2014

Now that I know the proper term for it...I pretty much exclusively retrohale and no longer puff only through the mouth. Just curious if that was common, or if it was overly damaging to the sinuses.
I will generally take 6-7 slow and deep sips at a time and retrohale all of them.

yaddy306 · Apr 29, 2014

I retrohale only about 5 times per bowl.

phil67 · Apr 29, 2014

In reference to the term “French inhaling’ it is as its name implies... inhaling. It is virtually impossible to let smoke drift from the mouth and draw up and through the nose without taking the smoke into your lungs. Even the mere act of gently sniffing a newly opened tin of tobacco involves the act of inhaling.

Other than that, I occasionally exhale through the nose and I also occasionally inhale albeit I never draw the smoke deeply into my lungs as one would do with a cigarette.

av8scuba · Apr 29, 2014

I exhale almost every puff through the nose. It does indeed enhance the flavor. : puffy

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Exhaling through the nose....????

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