Are there any health..

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

12 Fresh Mark Tinsky Pipes
166 Fresh Peterson Pipes
84 Fresh Savinelli Pipes
9 Fresh Castello Pipes
60 Fresh Ropp Pipes

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

timm2

Lurker
Aug 5, 2012
38
0
Health wise, are there any benefits to having a filter? is it safer and healthier?
In general do Meers have filters?

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,313
67
Sarasota Florida
In my opinion filters take away from the quality of the smoke. I want to taste the tobacco in it's purest form, I don't want anything filtering the experience. Even if it was healthier, I wouldn't use one.

 

baronsamedi

Lifer
May 4, 2011
5,688
6
Dallas
Meerschaum kind of is its own filter becasue it absorbs some tars, but I seriously doubt either that or paper filters can provide any measurable health benefit. Not breathing it into your lungs and lack of chemical adjuncts (compared to most cigarettes) are the biggest advantages to pipe-smoking.

 

sparroa

Lifer
Dec 8, 2010
1,466
4
Agree with everything that's been said.
I don't think filters pose any benefit whatsoever. The draw on filtered cigarettes, for example, is so constricted that people inhale twice as hard to get the same effect... Same with the "light" versions, people would smoke more to compensate.
As for pipe filters, my only experience with them was that they do trap particulates and prevent you from smoking ash but other than that they ruin the draw, stink up your pipe, and are just another thing to buy and replace... Not inhaling will save your lungs a lot of damage, as would smoking outside, but your mouth and throat is still exposed to the smoke no matter what way you slice it... A filter won't mitigate those risks, IMO. So I personally choose to smoke without the filters to get a fuller taste and to do without the nasty residue that a filter left in your pipe until it's cooled will leave behind...
As Baron has touched on, the colouration on meerschaums is a result of tars and probably nicotine being absorbed into the mineral so it's probably cleaner tasting but not likely safer than briar or cob.

 

zirbengeist

Lurker
Aug 22, 2012
24
0
I smoke both filtered and unfiltered pipes. If there is a difference in taste I find it hard to discern. I do notice the tar build up on my filters so I would imagine that there is a benefit.
I have to say though that I have only been smoking pipes for a year and I am not an expert. Filters do take up some of the moisture and provide, in my opinion, a cool smoke.
That beig said when I try a new tobacco I use both methods. I am looking forward to my first experience with Nightcap.

 

sparroa

Lifer
Dec 8, 2010
1,466
4
It probably does offer a cooler smoke in some cases and it most definitely does wick the moisture...
The question for me, though, does it provide any long term benefit versus unfiltered smoking? That is what I have my doubts about - extreme doubts.
It is definitely going to be a preference thing; I actually enjoyed my first cob smoke with a filter but I hated the aftermath and the proposed benefits were far outweighed by the messiness.
Overall, I just don't see the health benefit. Let's just say that nonsmoking is 0 risk and unfiltered smoking is 10, then to my mind smoking with a filter is at best a 9 - any protection is minimal and it is moreso a means to get a cooler or drier smoke...

 

taerin

Lifer
May 22, 2012
1,851
3
I think it would be rather foolish to say that it would reduce health risks, kind of in the same way a silencer doesn't make bullets safer. Long-term the health impact is probabley about the same. It makes more sense to use a filter if you like it more, not because you think that it will save your life. Smoking has health impacts that can not be made safe in any way, more important to figure out how to enjoy it the most, than to figure out the safest possible way as long as your not totally overdoing it (unless you want to). I think the best advice is to try to reduce mouth-burn as much as possible and to not smoke when you have open sores in your mouth caused by smoking.

 

zirbengeist

Lurker
Aug 22, 2012
24
0
All valid points. Not smoking is the healthiest option. I was just making an observation from my experience which is limited

 

topd

Lifer
Mar 23, 2012
1,745
11
Emerson, Arkansas
I agree with all these points made... Years ago I bought several Savinelli's with the 9mm balsa

filters. They were a mess to deal with during cleaning. The only benefit I can see is if you were

out all day with one pipe and smoked constantly.... It may help to keep your pipe dryer is all.

Meers absorb 'some' of the tars but few have filters.

As far as health goes... well, we all hate listening to non-smokers comments, but not smoking is

the best health benefit, period. But regardless, I will continue to smoke 'til the day I die.
Do filters make smoking a pipe more healthy? ----- No.

 

ruggierm1

Lurker
Aug 9, 2012
35
0
I know when I started smoking, pipes/cigars, I was fully aware that it was a hobby that could be harmful to my health. I really do enjoy it though, and I find it relaxes me (which can be beneficial to your health in other ways). Like any other so called vice (like drinking), I try to enjoy in moderation.

 

sixmp

Can't Leave
Jan 19, 2012
420
1
I have read many articles on the ups and downs of smoking.

I read one report that basically stated that if you didn't die from a smoking related illness that you could actually live longer than a non-smoker or something to that effect.

I personally suffer from a lot of stress which will shorted my lifespan. Pipe smoking in moderation 2-3 bowls a day helps keep me relaxed. Which as far as i can see is going to extent my perceived lifespan (providing a bus doesn't come through the wall and take me out )

 

sparroa

Lifer
Dec 8, 2010
1,466
4
I hear you.
I was just trying to put to rest the notion that these filters will make it safer and better for your health. It's not advanced technology; they are only sticky papers that will capture x amount of tar/ash but allow 99% of the particulates to flow through, otherwise you wouldn't be smoking...
Filters are for a cooler/smoother/drier smoke, if you believe in that sort of thing. It is highly unlikely that they will prevent any harm that may or may not come from pipe smoking - I think most of us can agree on those points.
As far as life extension goes, sixmp, it is a mug's game to worry about that! All things in moderation, including moderation, as they say... A monastic lifestyle won't save one from their genes nor will a profligate lifestyle leave a strong body unpunished.

 

friday

Might Stick Around
Aug 23, 2012
88
1
I use the filters in my savinelli, but not for health benefits. I use them because im new and still trying to figure out whats "wet" , "ready", and "dry". Once I get that down better, wont use them anymore. In fact , I only plan to use the ones that came with the pipe.

 

dirtybearpipes

Might Stick Around
Jul 12, 2012
59
0
It's probably about the same as using a napkin to dab the extra grease off a piece of pizza. Does it make you feel better... yes. Is it actually healthier... not really.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.