39 days since I've been cigarette free, perhaps the longest since I have been smoking (17 years). I cheated twice with one and a half cigarettes over this past month but strangely and thankfully did not relapse like I always have in the past. I owe this to the smoking pipe!
I have come to realize that it is not the cigarette I miss (of course its nicotine) but rather the habit of smoke coming out of my mouth and something to hold in my hand. This habit becomes a compulsion especially when I'm consuming any sort of alcohol. What better replacement than a pipe to hold on to?
I started with an old pipe I had bought in a flea market years ago, I don’t remember why I bought it, I just did. It had a metal casing inside. Couple of months ago, I ordered the only pipe tobacco available in Bangalore - captain black! Now before you start wondering why in God's name would I buy that, consider this, I live in a place where no one seems to smokes a pipe (trust me, I've looked up,more cigar fans here) and the only tobacco dealer in the city has just captain black. In any case, I have no comparison so when I did smoke my first few bowls, I was ecstatic. Sadly and stupidly I managed to break the only pipe I had within a week. Don't ask how, it broke right in the middle with the filter inside the stem so there was no fixing it. The minute I lost the pipe (this was 2 months ago) I got back to cigarettes. My local tobacco guy finally managed to find me a Sanda (Pipe, only available in India I think, made in west Bengal state). This also has a metal casing, although, I’m not sure what its really made of. It has a very plastic fibre / clay feel to it and its evident that its been painted brown to look like wood. But nevertheless this cheap piece if fiber clay or whatever its made of has helped me stay off cigarettes. And yes I continue to smoke cap black in fact went though a good two ounces in the last 39 days.
I’m headed to New York this Saturday to visit a 'proper' tobacconist to buy my first Briar pipe and hopefully will find the right tobacco blend.
I have come to realize that this is my calling. I've never had or held a hobby my whole life. This new found interest, just feels right!
I have come to realize that it is not the cigarette I miss (of course its nicotine) but rather the habit of smoke coming out of my mouth and something to hold in my hand. This habit becomes a compulsion especially when I'm consuming any sort of alcohol. What better replacement than a pipe to hold on to?
I started with an old pipe I had bought in a flea market years ago, I don’t remember why I bought it, I just did. It had a metal casing inside. Couple of months ago, I ordered the only pipe tobacco available in Bangalore - captain black! Now before you start wondering why in God's name would I buy that, consider this, I live in a place where no one seems to smokes a pipe (trust me, I've looked up,more cigar fans here) and the only tobacco dealer in the city has just captain black. In any case, I have no comparison so when I did smoke my first few bowls, I was ecstatic. Sadly and stupidly I managed to break the only pipe I had within a week. Don't ask how, it broke right in the middle with the filter inside the stem so there was no fixing it. The minute I lost the pipe (this was 2 months ago) I got back to cigarettes. My local tobacco guy finally managed to find me a Sanda (Pipe, only available in India I think, made in west Bengal state). This also has a metal casing, although, I’m not sure what its really made of. It has a very plastic fibre / clay feel to it and its evident that its been painted brown to look like wood. But nevertheless this cheap piece if fiber clay or whatever its made of has helped me stay off cigarettes. And yes I continue to smoke cap black in fact went though a good two ounces in the last 39 days.
I’m headed to New York this Saturday to visit a 'proper' tobacconist to buy my first Briar pipe and hopefully will find the right tobacco blend.
I have come to realize that this is my calling. I've never had or held a hobby my whole life. This new found interest, just feels right!