How often is "occasional"?

Welcome to the forum.

I smoke my pipe 2 or 3 times a week and I call that occasionally.

Welcome , you can do like the Europeans did in the day and hired people to smoke and color their Meers, it ought to work for Briars, Smoking By Proxy.

Welcom to the forums. I smoke sometimes once a day but mostly 3-4 times a week. If I don't go a few days without a bowl I don't notice any cravings or signs of addiction. Hope that helps. In the end do what feels best for you everyone is different, and addiction is different for everyone.

Addiction is a funny thing, everyone is different. Depending on ones activity within their Nucleus accumbens that is directly related to the their consumption of nicotine, one can have various results on weather or not they become addicted. Some people just have an "addictive personality" making them subject to addictions often and easily, others less so.

If you are in fact worried about addiction setting in with low frequency use than maybe pipe smoking is not for you. Smoking of pipes and the associated rituals are often seen as a way of relaxing and contemplation and shouldn't be a source of anxiety. Granted this is just my two cents. In any case welcome to the forums, this group of people are a lively and always full of good advice for the eager learner.

I am definitely an occasional smoker. I smoke on occasions. Like holidays, and birthdays. Anniversary’s, and weekends. On the occasion of my promotions, my children's graduations or my wife's horse riding competitions. After a long hard day or in preperation for one. Sunrises and sunsets are also a personal favorite and I am known to smoke occasionally during those time periods.
So yeah, I am an occasional smoker.

I have yet to hear of someone getting addicted to pipe tobacco in the sense that if they go without a pipe for a day or two they end up having withdrawals of headaches and what not.
Now the flavor of certain blends or the ritual of pipe smoking, yes that's very addicting.

Also addictive: Spending all your extra cash on TAD/PAD.

I thought this would be about sex after 30+ years of marriage.

Sorta like, "The only time I drink alone is when no one else is around".

Sounds like you have nothing to worry about.

I used to smoke about 20 cigarettes a day for about 30 years, since I started smoking a pipe I smoke 2-4 bowls a day and I can feel the difference within myself. A lot of the nicotine in the tobacco is filtered out smoking a pipe, especially in a Meerchaum pipe. Then again smoking a pipe you have tobacco's naturally high in sugar and low in nicotine and others high in nicotine and low in sugar. To me and many others the addiction isn't mainly in just smoking a pipe but collecting them, their variety is unreal. Also most pipers need more than one pipe because for every bowl you smoke you rest your pipe for one day. A few months back I started with 2 pipes, now I have 35-40 plus. Then there is the blending of tobacco's to get a blend that you love, but I won't get into that now.
Collecting and nursing (cleaning and polishing) your pipes is my biggest addiction before smoking. Smoking has turned from an addiction into a hobby now and looked after the pipes will hold their value so there is no real loss.
I don't think you need to worry, just have a pipe whenever you feel like one, nothing wrong with that.

Welcome to the forum. Pipes smoking is not addictive. Pipe ritual, Pipe acquisition, and Tobacco Acquisition are a different matter e n t i r e l y.
=D

My initial idea was once every other month. Would once a month be frequent enough to get addicted?

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Sounds somewhat reminiscent of my sex life. Addicted, but not frequent enough.
Seriously though, if you're that concerned about it don't do it. But, smoking a bowl every month or so and worrying about addiction to it is akin to worrying about becoming being addicted to fried liver or anchovies.

Addiction is a funny thing, everyone is different...If you are in fact worried about addiction setting in with low frequency use than maybe pipe smoking is not for you.

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This. There is no way of knowing if you will get hooked on nicotine unless you use it. And if you don't want to be hooked on nicotine, you probably shouldn't use it at all. Some people can take it and leave it, others can't.

Ppphhhht!!! Never heard of anyone getting addicted to pipes, ha ha ha!! The guy down the road from me says he's not addicted to his cigars either, but he has one in his mug every time I see him. OK, ok, maybe you guys could just toss your pipes away and flush your tobaccos, but me, I'm honest with myself. I am addicted to the smoke, absorption through my mouth, buying tobacco, and pipes. But, if I was just smoking every few weeks or so, I'd just walk away from it now. It's one of the most addictive substances on earth. And, how do you know if you have the non-addictive gene like some of these iron wills? If addiction is something you absolutely do not want, then I feel compelled to tell you to put the pipe down, log out of here, and back away as fast as you can.
The forum is where we review blends that will make you want to try them, and there are more blends than days of the year. And, we extol the glories of our blessed instruments of addiction, each one a loving and treasured possession. Being on here, should come with a warning. Do not log in and join in unless you are wanting to feed a PAD and TAD that will work its way into your budget like water and electricity.
No, don't play around with tobacco. Don't play around with alcohol, cocaine, or heroine. If you are going to do it, do it without fear, do it with pride, do it because you want to be a pipe smoker.
I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass. If we had to give up our addictions, there'd be trouble in Bedlam. Sure, maybe some can dance at the edge of addiction, but why? It makes you stink, most people look down on smokers, its expensive, it can ruin relationships, your insurance, possibly your health... just be honest. Ask yourself, is the one hour of enjoyment of taste and sensation worth all of that.
For me, it is better for me than the evils of cigarettes that I struggled for decades with. it was the least of the evils. And, yes, for me it's worth it. But, a new fellow, with no addiction to it already, only you can answer that for yourself.
I am not anti-smoking. I'm just being honest. But, if you pick up that chain and shackle yourself in, your in good company on this here slave ship. We're a good bunch of folks, and I will look forward to your posts ::

I've been a pipe smoker (only) since age 13 and I am now 65. My definition of occaisional is simply put this way... "I NEVER SMOKE MY PIPE IN BETWEEN PIPEFULS!"

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Welcome aboard mjzerby.

My initial idea was once every other month.

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I started out with that very same idea. Now here's what happened to me:
First off, it takes quite a bit of practice to get the hang of pipe smoking. Next, you'll need to try several different types of blends to find your preferences. This leads to more frequent smoking, at least until you get the hang of it, I told myself. Then you begin to discover subtle yet unimagineable flavors, but is it the Burley or the Perique?, you may ask yourself, and this curiosity leads to more frequent pipe smoking. Now you need a few more pipes, because you need one for aros and one for VaBurs and another for Latakia blends, plus a stand in for each pipe while it's resting. Next thing you know you've spent a couple of thousand dollars on pipes and another thousand on tobacco blends, and voila, you love pipe smoking.
You may or may not be addicted, but you'll sure want to smoke your favorite pipes and tobaccos.
Test yourself, take a week off. Hey no cravings, no trembling, just a dash of excitement about that approaching day when you can light up, knowing that you're not yet addictted. You can't stop thinking about pipe smoking but you're not addicted, are you?
One last note - People that smoke cigarettes are usually addicted and they smoke. Pipe smokers, on the other hand are usually obsessed with the pipes and tobacco and smoking. We go so far as to join fórums where we spend untold hours talking and writing about pipes, tobacco and pipe smoking.
If you're worried about addiction to nicotine, that will be the least of your worries here. Fasten your seatbelt and hang on as you journey through TAD and PAD and post hundreds or even thousands of posts about what you're smoking or buying or just talking pipes and tobacco.
Are you really ready for this?

+1 Dottie

At a couple of pipes a month, it might take you half a year to get the pack and light ritual down. Heck, it'd take you a year to get through a couple of tins. It might take years to give enough different blends a chance to know what you like. Meanwhile, if you're on here, you'd have read a couple of dozen tobacco reviews, seen tons of beautiful pictures of some gorgeous pipes... I'd drive myself nuts till the next bowl full.

Cosmic & Dottie ... extremely well said

I was about to say what Cosmic just did.

For most people, the learning process is extremely frustrating. I've been close to giving up many times, and many others have indeed given up. I didn't believe people when they told me that it just required practice, practice, practice and thought i would never get it... Once a month or once a fortnight hardly falls under the category of "practice practice practice"
I've been smoking an average of 3 to 4 bowls a week for the past 4 months and i still SUCK. Only in the past month (and thanks to prince albert tobacco) have I started to really enjoy the actual smoking.
If you're only smoking once a month, by the time you're packing your next bowl you've completely forgotten what you might have done wrong the last time you packed, what the tobacco tasted like etc.
In my opinion there are two basic ways to smoke a pipe. The first one is the "old codger" way, which used to be how almost everyone smoked a pipe. That's incessantly, usually the same tobacco, for several bowls a day. This could be considered an addiction.

The second way is what you see on this forum, and its quite prevalent today. That's people who will smoke a few bowls a week but have thousands of $$ and hours invested on their pipe and tobacco collections. We're not addicted, we're obsessed.
Smoking once a month is never going to allow you to fully enjoy pipe smoking, and in any case, even in heavy pipe smokers, health damages are unproven. Pipes are not cigarettes.