Public Perception/Comments

I live in California as well, and 99.9% of the responses, when there has been a response, have been affirmative. Only a few people suddenly start loudly coughing and putting their hands over their mouths and noses. I feel for those people, truly I do, as their uptightness will probably kill them. ::

I'm in "smoke anywhere" Alabama, so take it anyhow you want. But, I find that smoking my pipe out and about starts a lot of great conversations. Probably conversations that I would never have had the opportunity without the pipe. I've only had one negative comment, and that was that I smelled like cigarettes by a customer. But, to be fair, to the untrained nose...

Otherwise, I find that my pipe tends to strike smiles on faces. I think the idea of tobacco being evil, comes from people's struggles with quitting, or knowing of someone who has struggled. The pipe probably doesn't even factor into people's equation for their perception of smoking. But, I find that the reality of seeing a pipe is positive, or quaint, or (I like to think) sexy, ha ha. ::

If I'm going to be out & about among the public smoking my pipe for long periods of time I tend to select a crossover blend and stay away from Latakia blends. I started doing that back when my wife would drag me to outdoor craft fairs & such and I would wait for her in the outdoor beer garden. My choice in tobacco always prompted positive comments and a few positive conversations. It even got me a free beer once!

Yesterday, on my way home from work, while puffing on some LNF, I pulled up to a stop light next to a couple of older ladies. I noticed the driver looking over at me. She immediately turned to the passenger, and then in unison, they turned their sights back to me. The driver rolled down her window, and they both had quite the curious kind of look upon their faces. :lol:
I don't believe any legitimate percentage of the population feels any ill will towards a pipe smoker. The only adversity we face is from those who confuse cigarettes with tobacco.

Coming at it from another angle, I stopped a fella the other day who was smoking a gorgeous old battered Peterson to ask what tobacco he was smoking (it smelt gorgeous). Had a quick chat, and the gent went on his way happily puffing, a little taller and smiling from ear to ear.
Now, I have to get some of what he was having

So, Klause, what was he smoking???

Probably

Spencer, he was smoking "Mellow Virginia" - it smelt absolutely gorgeous, and I t was all he smoked.
It's a much maligned OTC here.

What grinds my gears every time :x GRRRR... are the people that see you smoking, and although they are UP wind of you, with no smoke ANYWHERE near them, immediately cover their mouths and start coughing and complaining about the smoke. There are some people that just need to get a life.

The only objection I've had to my pipe smoking came about 11 years ago not long after I'd moved to MIssissippi, and I was truly floored by the objection! No bitching when I lived in California, but Mississippi? The place I worked at had a lunch room for everyone to use for coffee breaks and lunch. There was a section in the corner that had a big vent fan that sucked the air and smoke outside that was mounted in the corner, so this was the designated smoking area. I liked that everyone pretty much played by the rules and smoked in that area.

One day a younger guy I worked with had overheard me talking pipes with someone else, and told me his grandfather had died, and he had just inherited some pipes from him. Next day he brought them in, and I told him they were mostly average pipes with the exception of a two dot Sasieni. He wanted to smoke one, so I told him next day at lunch I'd bring some tobacco and we could have a little smoke at lunch. I usually never smoked at work, as there never seemed to be enough time, but I was determined to make time for him. So next day we meet in the break room, and are getting the pipes loaded, and one of the 5 people sitting in the smoking corner, started to object. I thought she was kidding, but no, she was serious, she hated pipe smoke! I assured her it was a nice smelling aromatic tobacco, but she still said no way! I said that we had as much right to smoke in this area as she did, and I didn't like cigarette smoke and thought it smelled much worse than pipe tobacco, and the other folks there agreed with me. So we lit up and she got up and left.

I asked her later why she hated pipe smoke so much, and she apologized, but only said she just couldn't stand the smell. So I didn't press her on it. We were always pleasant to each other at work, but I still thought the objection was rather odd coming from a cigarette smoker. :crazy:

It's easy to think "I smoke for me and not them" when you are going to be out in the open public for any length of time, and I understand that mentality. But on the other hand on those ocassions I tend to select my tobaccos to make friends and not enemies. Work to separate the perception between pipe smoking and cigar & cigarette smoking that non smokers have.

Here in Tennessee, or anywhere else I've gone for that matter, I've never had a negative comment thrown my way. None that I can remember anyway.

But I have had many positive ones. I seem to really get a lot of them when I visit Gatlinburg.

The only comment I have gotten was from a couple who thought I should wait till I get home to smoke my dope. I just informed them I was smoking tobacco and went about my day.

I've never received any negative comments myself, and I live in GA. I use to live in MS, and would smoke sometimes in the smoking room on lunch. Back then some folks would ask me what type of wacky stuff I had. I usually just give them the odd look and correct them, saying that stuff was a waste of my hard earned money. They always loved the smell of my pipe from what I was told. Back then it was always Captain Black, no B&M around that sold anything else. In GA, I have yet to get any negative feedback its all be pretty positive. Had quite a few ask what blend I was smoking, and lots tell me it reminds of older family members. When I went to Gatlinburg I was coming out of a store with my wife and kids, and saw a gent setting there packing a cob. I couldn't smell it as of yet but I was curious, I hadn't met anyone in public getting their pipe ready. I could tell by the way he was packing that it was legit baccy, and not the other stuff. He was kinda dressed up punk style, with fingerless leather gloves and a few other items, but a piper is a piper to me no matter their style of cloths. I approached him and asked what blend he was loading up and if I could have a smell of it. He said sure and it smelled great, after that he walked me over to the store he buys his stuff from and I got to hang out in there smoking a bowl with him and the clerk. I didn't know you could actually smoke inside the store with it being in another shopping area.
Some have even asked for me to teach them how to smoke a pipe. Which has happened here in our deployed location, I'm about to go teach four others the techniques that has been taught to me. They all ordered some MM and Russ's blend to get started to see how they like it, they tell me they love the smell when I'm outside smoking.