Is This Mold?

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BingBong

Lifer
Apr 26, 2024
1,482
6,358
London UK
Smoke it. Good grief, I've eaten French goat's cheeses which were still alive, and so am I. If that tiny bit of whatever upsets you, pick it out. We're all supposed to drop dead from our indulgence as it is; if it had florets of mould, maybe I would shy away. The French wouldn't, for certain.
 

captpat

Lifer
Dec 16, 2014
2,388
12,411
North Carolina
I don't think the analogy to cheese is a good one. With cheese, there is a track record of safety that in large part is predicated on knowing the variety(s) of mold present. With tobacco mold absent some detailed analysis one doesn't know if it's good, bad, or neutral. The mode of ingestion, inhaling vice intestinal are also different, usually the former carries more risk than the latter.

Everyone's risk tolerance is different and it may be okay to smoke, I won't advise the OP to test it and see.
 

johnnyflake

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 29, 2023
190
369
83
Henderson, Nevada
If it really concerns you, just pick it out with a pair of tweezers. Other than that, I'd just smoke it. You're going to burn the hell of it anyway. I have no doubt that all of us have probably smoked up some small traces of mold during our pipe smoking years. There is no way in hell that your going to spot a small trace of mold in all the pipe tobacco you will have smoked!
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,915
21,622
SE PA USA
I don't think the analogy to cheese is a good one. With cheese, there is a track record of safety that in large part is predicated on knowing the variety(s) of mold present. With tobacco mold absent some detailed analysis one doesn't know if it's good, bad, or neutral. The mode of ingestion, inhaling vice intestinal are also different, usually the former carries more risk than the latter.

Everyone's risk tolerance is different and it may be okay to smoke, I won't advise the OP to test it and see.
Au contaire, mon ami. People have died from eating raw milk cheese with e. coli and listeria.

My opinion (and worth as much): No way to know what it is without proper testing.
My guess: No.
My Suggested Course of Action: Send it all to me, I'll smoke it and let you know how it goes.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
45,265
119,341
Smoke it. Good grief, I've eaten French goat's cheeses which were still alive, and so am I. If that tiny bit of whatever upsets you, pick it out. We're all supposed to drop dead from our indulgence as it is; if it had florets of mould, maybe I would shy away. The French wouldn't, for certain.
Tobacco mold is fairly toxic and can cause fungal infections.
 
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Reactions: AJL67

hoipolloiglasgow

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 14, 2023
630
4,666
United States
Just remove the bad part. That's even if it'd hurt you. Like you would a bruised/less than desirable mildewy part of a fruit. The rest looks A-okay doesn't it?
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,915
21,622
SE PA USA
Tobacco mold is fairly toxic and can cause fungal infections.
CAN be toxic. In theory.
I've yet to see a situation where anyone was ever harmed by pipe tobacco mold, even in the slightest way.
If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Just remove the bad part. That's even if it'd hurt you. Like you would a bruised/less than desirable mildewy part of a fruit. The rest looks A-okay doesn't it?
Well, see, that's the impossible part.
IF the tobacco has mold growing in it, it's all throughout. What you see are the fruiting bodies. The mold itself is pervasive.

No, no..I was serious! Really!