the great age debate

billy123 · Mar 14, 2011

I'm sure this has been discussed before - but do other guys have a problem smoking pipes in public?
Saturday I sat in the park and started to fill my pipe. This guy walks by and seeing me do it says "Sherlock smokin weed now is he?" This is just the sort of reaction I expect. I think the general perception is that if you are not fairly mature and sporting a beard you must be doing dope. It makes me so self conscious that I'm reluctant to smoke outside. Stupid thing is I'm 48 years old - admittedly I look pretty young, maybe 35. But just how old do I need to be smoke a pipe publicly without people doing a double take?

fredvegas · Mar 14, 2011

Toss that ignorant moron a giant middle finger and continue lighting up.
How old do you need to be? In the US, 18.

forsooth · Mar 14, 2011

To me, pipe smoking does not even resemble the machinations associated with smoking dope. One of the places I love to smoke my pipe is in my car, and I don't feel self-conscious about it.
Anyway, I don't think Holmes smoked marijuana, did he? :puffpipe:

papipeguy · Mar 14, 2011

Regardless of your age there will always be people who will comment when they see you with a pipe. They all think they're comedians as well. I just smile politely and wish them a good day.

For those who are more in my face about the smell of my pipe, I usually tell them that I'm masking the odor oof the dog popp that people don't bother to pick up after their pets. Its a community service that I offer gratis to the fine citizens of the area. No need to thank me. Have a nice day, Madam.

That generally suffices.

papipeguy · Mar 14, 2011

forsooth, Holmes had other nefarious habits and may have partaken in opium on occasion but never in public.

julesholling · Mar 14, 2011

Well i'm 32 and do get the odd comment when people i know realise i smoke a pipe. It's normally something where they mention being a grandpa etc etc but after that initial comment they start asking questions.
Often smoke if me and the family are out for a walk in the park and i normally get a few smiles etc but no comments yet. To be honest i think it's expected, us pipe smokers are such a dying breed that it's unusual to see someone doing it.
I do have a beard though so maybe that makes me fit the mental image of a smoker that most people have.

admin · Mar 14, 2011

Sorry for the repetition, since I recently bumped these two old articles in other threads, but I think they are applicable to this discussion.
Pipes Are For Everyone
Don't Leave Home Without It ... Your Pipe

scrantonpipes16 · Mar 14, 2011

Every time I smoke my pipe, I always get jokes about being a 50 year old man( Nothing wrong with that), but I just dis-like the idea that to smoke a pipe one must be older. But one positive comment is that once people smell the aroma of a good blend of Tobacco they usually become intrigued and are willing to learn more!!!

theotherspace · Mar 14, 2011

I occasionally have that problem, but I find it says more about the person saying it! I get some jibes in uni about being old before my time, but it doesn't spoil my enjoyment

admin · Mar 14, 2011

Interestingly, pipe smoking has been realizing a resurgence in the younger crowd, and the more this keeps happening, perhaps in time more people will get used to seeing it, and the old stereotype will fade away.

julesholling · Mar 14, 2011

Exactly Kevin.
Whilst i wouldn't consider myself as one of the younger crowd now i think it's important that we all get out there when we smoke. The more it is seen the less unusual it will be and the less comments we'll receive on it.

lagavulin92 · Mar 14, 2011

The usual respond I get
from WWII veterans: stories about their exploits with the ladies

instead of lame claims of innocence ("I just follwed the orders").
from lads: did you inherit them from your grandpa?
from the chicks: [swoon] OMG he's so young/cute!
from many of my teachers: hostile reactions caused by their inferiority

complexes because they are second-class academics
My solemn response to hostile comments:

"This is the pipe of a WWII veteran whom I've promised to love

his "widow" they way he did all his life"
Thats not true but the WWII thing always works when you live in Old Austria.

papipeguy · Mar 14, 2011

Don't worry, guys; you'll get older soon enough. I started smoking a pipe in college and now I'll be 59 in April. The years do fly by so enjoy as much as you can while you can.

puffintuff · Mar 14, 2011

I don't care much about what other people say because I value my opinion more than theirs.

expatpipe · Mar 14, 2011

I've actually been sitting on a bench, by a trail going thru the woods.. and experienced people getting nervous as h... OMG, a younger guy with pipe, he must be sitting there lighting up dope. And if the car is parked and I'm lighting up.. I'm sure a heck of a lot of people think the same. The only thing that annoys me is waiting for the day when an officer of the law just can not get it thru his/her head that a younger person can actually smoke a tobacco pipe and have nothing to do with dope. I get the Grandpa thing too sometimes, oh well, when your smokig a pipe people tend hang on every word you say, the power of the pipe. :wink:

lyst36 · Mar 14, 2011

I do get weed questions myself but based on the aroma it is obviously something else. I do feel like I get less awkward looks when I have a beard though.

collindow · Mar 14, 2011

I always think that people assume I'm smoking weed when I light up in my car, but I don't care, because they're just other people by God.

And when I'm smoking in public, people usually just give me approving looks, or comment on how nice that smells. Maybe it helps that I'm in Portland, on a college campus, often.
Edit: By the way, I'm 20. But look quite a bit younger.

classicgeek · Mar 14, 2011

I dunno. I fall on the younger side of the median age, I guess. Being where I live (weed is a multi-billion dollar underground industry in British Columbia, lots of anti-tobacco laws), I suppose a pipe would be associated with weed instead of tobacco. But it ain't no glass pipe, and one sniff would tell someone that the "BC bud" stink is missing. Haven't been hassled, but I'm not out and about too often. I worry more about accidentally tripping into the 10-foot no-smoke zones around doors and air intakes.
Simon

schmitzbitz · Mar 14, 2011

I suppose I too fall in the younger side of the median (physical) age at 30, although I, and many fellow brothers of briar, tend to be slightly anachronistic, and cogery. I agree wholeheartedly with Simon on this one, although in my suburb (Coquitlam), its six meters, or 20(ish) feet no-smoke zones. Only place I've actually been hassled is sitting in my own front yard, but I also haven't tried lighting up in any of the municipal parks, or sitting on a public bench or anything like that.
It's interesting that you make the comparison to B.C.'s pot smoking community - I would say that they have become more accepted than us tobacco smokers. I know I can't walk the sea-wall in Stanley Park without getting a contact high, but god forbid I light my pipe...

pstlpkr · Mar 14, 2011

Welcome Billy,
Maybe this will be of some cheer.

Reminiscing With A Total Stranger

the great age debate

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