Do You Smoke for a Nic-Hit?

[Misanthrope]

I voted yes. There are other, more potent methods of nicotine intake, but pipes are the most enjoyable and relaxing way for me. Cigarettes feel like nursing an addiction, chewing/dipping or using gum doesn’t really work out for me because I like to drink coffee a lot, vaping is...serviceable, but feels mechanical and soulless compared to pipes, and I’m not a cigar guy.

That relaxing feeling you’re getting while smoking a pipe? That’s a combination of slow, measured, low-dosage nicotine Intake and breathing methods that induce relaxation, with a side dish of aromatherapy and zero calorie snacking, plus a bit of ritual.

I feel like it’s a little disingenuous to say people don’t smoke pipes for the nicotine—if you removed nicotine from the equation entirely, you might as well be doing slow breathing exercises over an incense bowl while gently tongue-massaging a piece of beef jerky in your mouth.

I mean, I don’t see master blenders doing seasoned lettuce blends for pipes. There’s a reason people stuff tobacco in pipes, and that reason is its nicotine content, everything else is secondary and designed to make the nicotine go down easier.

 

[karam]

I don't smoke a pipe for the nicotine, ritual or tradition, I smoke for the taste. Having said that, if there is a nicotine hit, or at least some tingling in the nose, I think higher of the blend and tend to prefer it as a more complete experience!

 

[charf]

I enjoy a Nic hit if it is there. Not interested in feeling nauseated though. Actually one of the things I enjoy most about pipe smoking is the smell on my hands afterwards.

 

[seanv]

Even if you aren't noticing the feeling of the nicotine, you are absorbing it. Feeling relaxed or calmed is an effect of the nicotine. By that definition, I would say we all smoke pipes for the nicotine.

 

[NomadOrb]

It really depends on what I'm looking for, but on average, I want to know that it's affecting me, but I don't want to actually feel it. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[Pipelady20]

I voted yes. There are other, more potent methods of nicotine intake, but pipes are the most enjoyable and relaxing way for me. Cigarettes feel like nursing an addiction, chewing/dipping or using gum doesn’t really work out for me because I like to drink coffee a lot, vaping is...serviceable, but feels mechanical and soulless compared to pipes, and I’m not a cigar guy.

That relaxing feeling you’re getting while smoking a pipe? That’s a combination of slow, measured, low-dosage nicotine Intake and breathing methods that induce relaxation, with a side dish of aromatherapy and zero calorie snacking, plus a bit of ritual.

I feel like it’s a little disingenuous to say people don’t smoke pipes for the nicotine—if you removed nicotine from the equation entirely, you might as well be doing slow breathing exercises over an incense bowl while gently tongue-massaging a piece of beef jerky in your mouth.

I mean, I don’t see master blenders doing seasoned lettuce blends for pipes. There’s a reason people stuff tobacco in pipes, and that reason is its nicotine content, everything else is secondary and designed to make the nicotine go down easier.

I enjoyed reading this, thanks.

 

[Pipelady20]

I enjoy a Nic hit if it is there. Not interested in feeling nauseated though. Actually one of the things I enjoy most about pipe smoking is the smell on my hands afterwards.

See, I don't like the smell on my hands, but that retrohale is an amazing experience. That's what keeps me going.

 

[Pipelady20]

It really depends on what I'm looking for, but on average, I want to know that it's affecting me, but I don't want to actually feel it. Hopefully that makes sense.

It does make sense.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Pipes are also way more ritualistic than any other form IMO.

I've never gotten that, more like making your own cigarettes. Fill with tobacco and light.

 

[radrick96]

I've never gotten that, more like making your own cigarettes. Fill with tobacco and light.

I guess it’s cause I’ve been rolling those forever. I see people doing it too. Have yet to see someone ever smoke a pipe in my life. Plus when I roll them, it’s More of a morning task to sit and roll a few cigarettes for my day while smoking a bowl from my pipe. Too bad I quit cigs...

 

[Sincerely]

Naw, any nicotine effects I've noticed are unpleasant and I almost always smoke with a sweetened drink to stave off any of those effects.

I grew up doing every kind of drug and was a hard-core addict of hard drugs for over a decade so I just don't really feel mild drugs.

By the time I'm "feeling" the nicotine its just unpleasant for me at that point.

 

[olkofri]

There would be no pipes to smoke without nicotine.. everyone's not in it for a nicotine buzz, but everyone who smokes tobacco is consuming nicotine.

The easiest way to avoid nicotine is to not smoke tobacco..

Yes, but when you don't feel it, you're not in it for it. I've thrown away expensive cigars half-smoked because I start feeling the nicotine. To heck with it: I'm not getting sick over a fabled buzz I've hardly ever experienced.

I once chased the nicotine for its intellectual-activity-enhancing effects. I could never get the effect, really. Only once: during a severe nicotine poisoning, when I wrote a test in the inside of 10 minutes and scored over 90% despite not having really studied. Never again.

Nicotine doesn't relax me either. Any relaxation I get from a pipe is from being forced to sit down and tend to it always going out and from chasing the flavours. I'm experienced enough to know when I am getting relaxation from a substance and tobacco just doesn't provide it: only alcohol does that.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have always smoked for the flavor. If I get any nicotine I never notice and don't care . If I want a quick nic hit I will smoke a Camel Blue 99. I might smoke one or two or none late at night after I am done smoking my pipes for the day.

 

[anotherbob]

I see pipes as being like the Japanese Zen Tea Ceremony. Where it's a very complex set of simple things interacting with each other. The caffeine is an important part of the ceremony but so is taking the time to really taste and appreciate the tea and so are the utensils. It's part of the experience but I wouldn't say it's the thing I smoke for any more then I smoke for just the flavor or the contemplation. That said when I jones for nicotine I tend to reach for snus or snuff, they're what I use for maintenance of the nicotine monkey. I rarely start going through nicotine withdraw and go straight to the pipe. That should show you what I hate about survey questions, my mind always says what precisely do they mean do I smoke for the nicotine???

 

[didimauw]

I'm a severe nicotine addict. The pipe is nice though for when I need something milder or stronger. If I smoke a cigarette before my pipe, I'll go mild. If it's been a while, I can go stronger with a different blend.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Yes, but when you don't feel it, you're not in it for it. I've thrown away expensive cigars half-smoked because I start feeling the nicotine. To heck with it: I'm not getting sick over a fabled buzz I've hardly ever experienced.

I once chased the nicotine for its intellectual-activity-enhancing effects. I could never get the effect, really. Only once: during a severe nicotine poisoning, when I wrote a test in the inside of 10 minutes and scored over 90% despite not having really studied. Never again.

Nicotine doesn't relax me either. Any relaxation I get from a pipe is from being forced to sit down and tend to it always going out and from chasing the flavours. I'm experienced enough to know when I am getting relaxation from a substance and tobacco just doesn't provide it: only alcohol does that.

This a silly debate to be having..

I don't FEEL the effects of nicotine 99.99 percent of the time, but I have enough sense to realize it's why I smoke. Maybe you got some denial going on or some way of justifying something you consider bad.. I'll say it again, people smoke tobacco for the nicotine that it contains.. that's not a generalization, it's an out and out fact.

 

[brian64]

I once chased the nicotine for its intellectual-activity-enhancing effects. I could never get the effect, really. Only once: during a severe nicotine poisoning, when I wrote a test in the inside of 10 minutes and scored over 90% despite not having really studied.

Sure, but in that instance you were already at an advantage due to the test being on the subject of the peculiar pipe-smoking habits of certain grumpy, large-headed bears.

 

[olkofri]

This a silly debate to be having..

I don't FEEL the effects of nicotine 99.99 percent of the time, but I have enough sense to realize it's why I smoke. Maybe you got some denial going on or some way of justifying something you consider bad.. I'll say it again, people smoke tobacco for the nicotine that it contains.. that's not a generalization, it's an out and out fact.

Probably. But one thing it infuriates me in the extreme is having people who have never even met me pompously lecture me on how my body works and why I, consciously or unconsciously, have certain affinities; and then going one step further in haughtiness and accuse me of denial when they have no bloody clue about my organism.

For the umpteenth time: i DO NOT SMOKE FOR THE DAMN NICOTINE!! Just like I don't drink coffee 'to get going' or to stay awake. Plenty of people do those things for those reasons. Fine. I do not. That should be fine too.

For the umpteenth time too: YOU DO NOT KNOW MY BODY AS I DO, for I am the one living in it and have had decades to get to know it. Don't pretend to school me on physiology, or pharmacokinetics: I have plenty of knowledge about those areas too, both from medical training and externsive personal experience.

 

[olkofri]

Sure, but in that instance you were already at an advantage due to the test being on the subject of the peculiar pipe-smoking habits of certain grumpy, large-headed bears.

Well, it was in my first term of veterinary school alright. But it was only physical chemistry: we hadn't gotten to the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors yet! ?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Probably. But one thing it infuriates me in the extreme is having people who have never even met me pompously lecture me on how my body works and why I, consciously or unconsciously, have certain affinities; and then going one step further in haughtiness and accuse me of denial when they have no bloody clue about my organism.

For the umpteenth time: i DO NOT SMOKE FOR THE DAMN NICOTINE!! Just like I don't drink coffee 'to get going' or to stay awake. Plenty of people do those things for those reasons. Fine. I do not. That should be fine too.

For the umpteenth time too: YOU DO NOT KNOW MY BODY AS I DO, for I am the one living in it and have had decades to get to know it. Don't pretend to school me on physiology, or pharmacokinetics: I have plenty of knowledge about those areas too, both from medical training and externsive personal experience.

Well look here, Mr. Grumpy Bear... Just enjoy your smoking. I ain't trying to school you on a thing.. but if you step back and look at it though, you'll see that the earth is actually round.. not flat, and we have science to prove it.