Moderate or Occasional Pipe Smoking Only?

[melvinsunsmokedcastello]

3-5 per day sometimes less if I'm busy.
----"I definitely don't want to live so long that I am crapping in a diaper and drooling in my soup. If smoking one or two bowls a week is going to extend my life to where that is my future, no thanks. "----
Well said and I completely agree. They say smoking can take 10 years off your life (cigs anyway) My answer? The last 10 years suck anyway.
---The corporate workplace further weeds out anyone deemed different or "not on board"---
YUP! I was both of these things and it led to me opening my own firm. Getting canned was the best thing that ever happened to me.

 

[pipebaum81]

Welcome, nhpro. May I ask how you came across this thread and perhaps why you have revived it? I find it interesting that this thread has been resurrected. It is a truly fascinating thread which outlines results I had not anticipated. By these results I am a heavier smoker. I pipe at least once a day sometimes twice but never three times. Time, lack of rotation pipes, and the core purpose of my piping keep my numbers where they are.
More importantly, the depth found on the PM forum is always impressive. Over a year has passed on this thread and there are familiar faces found here. The gentleman posting as kashmir seems incredibly interesting and well presented. I was not around for his tenure but would have loved to read more of what he had to say.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Kashmir is Eric Boehm. He now admins almost all of the pipe pages on Facebook. If you do the FB, check him out. He's a great guy.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I know some people don't like resurrected threads, but ones such as this one are nice to re-read from time to time. Kashmir always had good insight, so its nice to see his thoughts again.
As to answer the original question in the thread; my pipe/cigar smoking varies. I may have 3-5 bowls a week or no bowls in a week. My cigars may range from none to one and maybe sometimes two. For me it just depends on the day and what I want, pipe or cigar. Between both I don't ever smoke more than 5 times a week and usually fall in the 2-3 times a week. Each of those days include either one cigar or one maybe two bowls (depending on the size of the pipe).

 

[zitotczito]

I like the old threads, especially bring new. As far bowls a day, around 2 but it is cold and I wrok during the day. When I retire next year all heck will break loose.

 

[chalbach72]

I usually smoke anywhere from 0-6 times a week (6 was a RARE occasion) as I smoke mainly with friends of mine, as many of my friends are pipe and/or cigar smokers! College got back into gear this week, and the weather wasn't very smoke-friendly, so I didn't smoke at all this week! Perhaps I can make up for it next week!

 

[derfargin]

1 to 2 bowls a day usually morning and evening smokes. The weekend allows a few more bowls per day. If I could smoke in my office I know I'd always have a pipe handy. Bit alas, I'm renting this house so I'm gonna have to wait till I can get a place of my own.

 

[literaryworkshop]

There's been some (not a lot) of research on pipe smoking vs. cigarette smoking, and I think the scientific consensus is that regular pipe smoking is a little less hazardous than regular cigarette smoking, but significantly more hazardous than not smoking at all. The higher the amount/frequency, the higher the risk. Most studies I've seen don't give risk factors for occasional pipe smokers (less than 1 pipe per day), I assume because it's hard to find enough of those to make a statistically reliable sample. This is all coming from studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals, and I can provide a bibliography if you somebody really wants it.
I'm not saying you shouldn't smoke a pipe. I'm just saying that, if you choose to do so, you should understand the risks involved. I don't aspire to live a risk-free life, and I do other things that are risky--driving a car, operating a chainsaw, etc. I don't smoke regularly at all. I really prefer making pipes to smoking them, but every once in a while, when I'm with some friends, we'll all light up a pipe to enjoy.

 

[owen]

It would appear a lot of us have too many pipes, judging by the actual amount getting smoked.

 

[effektor]

I used to smoke 2-4 days a week, one or two bowls a day. It was generally at friends houses over a beer and some whiskey, but I have recently moved away from them. Once I get my basement shop back together, I plan on installing a air filter of some sort and get back to smoking more often. I don't plan on smoking more than a few times a week since I do notice a negative effect on my breathing if I smoke too frequently. I would love to smoke more, but the smell and effects on my breathing make that unlikely.

 

[boilermakerandy]

I smoke mostly 4 bowls per day and on occasion 5. I honestly couldn't care less if it is bad for me. I am going to die someday and I would rather live my life enjoying it than worry about things that will kill me. I definitely don't want to live so long that I am crapping in a diaper and drooling in my soup. If smoking one or two bowls a week is going to extend my life to where that is my future, no thanks.

I'm in agreement with cigrmaster here and my opinion is pretty much identical to his. I smoke from 2 to 5 bowls everyday and don't give it a second thought. If one is worried about the health risks then I would suggest they not smoke but life is full of risks and no one gets out of it alive anyway. I have absolutely no doubt that I put myself at an exponentially greater risk of death traveling the metro Atlanta freeways everyday than my pipes will ever present. The pipe smoking as a hobby thing is a bit weird to me as I have been a tobacco user in its various forms since I was about 9 or 10 years old starting with chewing tobacco and dip and I am now 49. Tobacco is just something I have always enjoyed for kost of my life. I smoke as much or as little as I want each day and don't think about it beyond that.

 

[pipebaum81]

Nice post boilermakerandy. I am a pipe smoker for only 7 months and surprised at the caution that many user express towards the health hazards of tobacco use. I think it shows an effective education or indoctrination (I’ll leave the choice of wording to you) of the modern times.
That really is the point though. No one should get behind the wheel of a car not respecting and understanding the risks. If there are indeed risks to tobacco use, one should educate themselves, weigh the factors, and make an informed decision. I do not advise someone to get into pipe smoking for all the wrong reasons just as much as I don't want someone to avoid pipe smoking out of ignorance.

I smoke as much or as little as I want each day and don't think about it beyond that

Liberty is indeed grand!

 

[boilermakerandy]

Do all these new (and probably young) pipe smokers who question the safety of pipe smoking eat less junk food or drive less every day because they are worried it will kill them? I highly doubt it.

@robin,
Very well stated, that is exactly what I was getting at with my post. My love of pork and dairy products will probably kill me long before tobacco does but am I giving up bacon, ham, sausage, butter or cheese? Hell, no! nor am I going to give up tobacco, driving cars, hunting, boating, or any of the other things I enjoy in life.
An older English friend said to me many years ago "You Americans seem to be so afraid of dying that you are afraid to live". That simple observation had a big impact on me.

 

[kola]

1-2 average bowels per day...been that way for over 7 years now.
bowels?? I meant bowls..ahem.

 

[elpfeife]

This past week I smoked 10 bowls over seven days. Three bowls in a day is about my max, and if I smoke them close together the third is usually not enjoyed that much. I look forward to the day when I retire and can spread them out.

 

[bernie2]

For my first few weeks of pipe smoking I'm averaging around a bowl a day. Some days I don't have any and I may have a few per day over the weekend when I have a bit more free time. It's turning out to be quite a bit more than I expected considering that I probably only smoked one to two cigars per month prior to my first pipe purchase.
When I smoked cigars I'd always pay the price the next day, perhaps some form of smoke/nicotine hangover. I'm happy to report that I haven't had any issues at all while smoking pipes.
As far as the health concerns I'm a bit torn. My father and all his 7 brothers have been fairly heavy cigarette smokers since the age of 12. Now most of them are in their 70's and 80's. Cancer hasn't been an issue with that group but other health issues have come up that are related to smoking.
I'm still learning to slow my pipe smoking down and I have the bad habit of blowing smoke out my nose that I need to stop. Once I do that I'll be less concerned with health risks.

 

[drezz01]

As others have said, my smoking habits are tied to climate. I live in the prairies of Canada where we have sweltering summers and bone chilling winters. I have gone months in the winter without smoking and some July nights can be too warm to comfortably smoke as well. Over the course of a year our temperature swings from an average low of -20 C (-4 F) to an average high of 25 C (77 F) (windchill and humidex pronounces this swing, our coldest day on record was -61 C (-77 F) with the windchill and a record high of 44 C (111 F) humidex.
Because of the above, most of my smoking occurs in the bumper seasons.Usually a bowl a day in the Fall and Spring, two or three a week in the summer, four a month if I'm lucky in the winter. We are currently experiencing a bit of a freak warm spell. It's above freezing this week, about 20 C higher than average. I've been enjoying smoking in my open-air veranda with a blanket over my legs. It's been quite amazing actually!

 

[pipebaum81]

"I didn't start smoking the pipe to die. I started smoking the pipe to live.
Regardless of whatever does eventually kill us, let's all meet up in the next life and enjoy a few bowls together, shall we?" -robin

+10 Well stated!

 

[sparrowhawk]

I'm evidently in a minority as an extreme smoker, probably as a carryover from my days as a cig smoker; I smoke about 10 bowls a day, but recently noticed if I slow down, I could probably get by on 4-5 bowls. I'm free to smoke in the house, you see, and since my activities are limited for reasons I won't bore you with, pipe smoking is very important to me as something to get an oral fix when I'm watching TV or working on my writing. But there is no way, after almost two years with the pipe, that I would ever go back to cigs. And kashmir, thanks for your terrific list of notable pipers!

 

[sw0snuff3r]

I average 1-3 bowls on weekdays and 3-5 on weekends. I've just taken up the pipe this fall and I suspect with yard work and pleasant summer evenings it will increase and I am looking forward to it.