Newbie flailing on whether to smoke or not!
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The plural of anecdote is not data; nicotine is absolutely addictive. Cigarettes give the fastest kick, but people get addicted to chewing tobacco all the time, and many on this forum have admitted to being addicted to nicotine in pipe tobacco. This isn't to say that everyone will get addicted, of course.
When I started I spent a week researching the health effects of tobacco.
Most of the information I found was on lung cancer, but I'm still shooting for a zero smoke inhalation level, so that's not on my list of concerns.
As far as oral cancer is concerned, I look at it as being about the same as skin cancer from sunlight, and the principles are pretty much the same. Light amounts of damage over time accelerates aging, regardless of the source. If you work in the sun eight hours a day then it's a major concern, your risk is proportional to your exposure and how well you prepare for it.
If you're doing something that makes you sore, stop it. Listen to your body and you'll find a happy medium. It's not that complicated.
Something else I learned recently is that colon cancer is an increased risk with pipesmokers. That's probably mostly applicable to an all-day smoker, but it's good to know that you should specifically avoid swallowing bits of tobacco.
Reading about the elevated risk from the combination of alcohol and tobacco just makes me glad I never drink.
As far as the addictive nature of tobacco goes I have no idea what people are talking about. Every encounter with Nicotine that I've had has simply been a sudden onset of nausea (pretty much exclusively with cigars. You're sitting there happily puffing away and then you stand up and "WHAM").
If I were to start walking around with a pipe hanging out my mouth 24/7 then it might be an issue, but at my current pace (three bowls a week or less, I just took five days off before a dental appointment), it's a non-issue.
Most of the information I found was on lung cancer, but I'm still shooting for a zero smoke inhalation level, so that's not on my list of concerns.
As far as oral cancer is concerned, I look at it as being about the same as skin cancer from sunlight, and the principles are pretty much the same. Light amounts of damage over time accelerates aging, regardless of the source. If you work in the sun eight hours a day then it's a major concern, your risk is proportional to your exposure and how well you prepare for it.
If you're doing something that makes you sore, stop it. Listen to your body and you'll find a happy medium. It's not that complicated.
Something else I learned recently is that colon cancer is an increased risk with pipesmokers. That's probably mostly applicable to an all-day smoker, but it's good to know that you should specifically avoid swallowing bits of tobacco.
Reading about the elevated risk from the combination of alcohol and tobacco just makes me glad I never drink.
As far as the addictive nature of tobacco goes I have no idea what people are talking about. Every encounter with Nicotine that I've had has simply been a sudden onset of nausea (pretty much exclusively with cigars. You're sitting there happily puffing away and then you stand up and "WHAM").
If I were to start walking around with a pipe hanging out my mouth 24/7 then it might be an issue, but at my current pace (three bowls a week or less, I just took five days off before a dental appointment), it's a non-issue.
[/quote]However, the taste of burning tobacco is something that I struggle with.
It sounds to me like you have a bit of a problem here. It's like saying " I wanna be an astronaut but I struggle with the thought of being in the air". You must like the taste of burning tobacco in order to smoke pipes. Do not smoke. There is nothing wrong with collecting pipes if you are fascinated with'em.
It sounds to me like you have a bit of a problem here. It's like saying " I wanna be an astronaut but I struggle with the thought of being in the air". You must like the taste of burning tobacco in order to smoke pipes. Do not smoke. There is nothing wrong with collecting pipes if you are fascinated with'em.
I think a good Latakia blend tastes like chicken soup, get the man some Gaslight and then we'll really see if he's cut out for it.
frozenchurchwarden wrote:
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anchovyd wrote:
Now that you'll have to explain! I can only speak for myself, but I certainly don't smoke tobacco because it 'specifically' contains an insecticide!
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anchovyd wrote:
Excuse me!! Nicotine has been proven to be one the most highly addictive substances there is.
Such a good thread! LOVE IT!! As with anything, it's a matter of balance and the illusion of power. Do you concern yourself more with how you'll live or how you'll die? Too much of either and you go off the rails. Then there's power and simple, inescapable truth that it's not your call. Regardless of how you go, it's likely you'll ask yourself, in the end, should I have done anything differently? "I wish I'd worried more and enjoyed life less" is an answer rarely given.
Pipe smoking should not be laden with anguish. Get comfortable with your decision by trying moderation tempered smoking of low nicotine blends and see how comfortable you feel with it. Try off for a significant period of time and see how you like that. But for God's sake, don't torture yourself about the decision!
You would be surprised (or maybe not) at how many of the forum members consider themselves collectors over smokers. My general rule of thumb is that if you have more pipes than you have pipe-fulls per month, you are a collector. Otherwise, you are a smoker.
Risk aversion can be maddening afterall...
You would be surprised (or maybe not) at how many of the forum members consider themselves collectors over smokers. My general rule of thumb is that if you have more pipes than you have pipe-fulls per month, you are a collector. Otherwise, you are a smoker.
Risk aversion can be maddening afterall...
While I agree that it will be very difficult to enjoy pipe smoking if you worry about its negative effects while smoking, I don't think that there is anything wrong with your initial worry, as studies have indeed shown a correlation between pipe smoking and certain diseases. I had the same worries at first, which is why I had a very long warm up before I came to a point where I would consider myself a pipe smoker, rather than a dabbler. This happened this summer, two years after my first starter kit.
One of the reasons for this is that I grew up in a very anti smoking family, and knew that I would have to defend my choice. So I did a little research and in the only really useful study, that I found focusing on pipe smoking, the amount of bowls per day for each segment of people studied were very high (according to my expectation for smoking). The lowest segment was 1-3 bowl per day, while the highest was 13+ bowl per day. For some diseases the relative risk was the same across all segments, but for most, IIRC, the risk increased with number of bowls. I have settled at a point where I smoke on average one bowl a day, and this is a happy medium for me, solving the tension between enjoyment and worry. I am aware of the increased risk but know that the relative risk is propbably not much greater than other health concerns, such as diet, lack of use of sun screen, lack of movement, alcohol consumption and other elements. For me the relative risk is worth it, and that is what you have to decide for yourself.
Besides, AFAIK recent research shows that cancer is most likely genetically determined, which is why some people are so genetically disposed that they can smoke and drink an entire life and live into their 90es.
One of the reasons for this is that I grew up in a very anti smoking family, and knew that I would have to defend my choice. So I did a little research and in the only really useful study, that I found focusing on pipe smoking, the amount of bowls per day for each segment of people studied were very high (according to my expectation for smoking). The lowest segment was 1-3 bowl per day, while the highest was 13+ bowl per day. For some diseases the relative risk was the same across all segments, but for most, IIRC, the risk increased with number of bowls. I have settled at a point where I smoke on average one bowl a day, and this is a happy medium for me, solving the tension between enjoyment and worry. I am aware of the increased risk but know that the relative risk is propbably not much greater than other health concerns, such as diet, lack of use of sun screen, lack of movement, alcohol consumption and other elements. For me the relative risk is worth it, and that is what you have to decide for yourself.
Besides, AFAIK recent research shows that cancer is most likely genetically determined, which is why some people are so genetically disposed that they can smoke and drink an entire life and live into their 90es.
Smoke it if you want to.
The wall of text from OP was a bit overbearing on the matter and does not seem genuine. I don't mean to be disrespectful by saying that.
The conundrem appears to be so irrelevant to the act of smoking that it appears to be unproductive.
To me the question was clearly answered in the original post.
Don't smoke a pipe.
Done.... It's that easy really.
And to make myself look happier about my post I shall give a smiley, but you've to wait for it...
The wall of text from OP was a bit overbearing on the matter and does not seem genuine. I don't mean to be disrespectful by saying that.
The conundrem appears to be so irrelevant to the act of smoking that it appears to be unproductive.
To me the question was clearly answered in the original post.
Don't smoke a pipe.
Done.... It's that easy really.
And to make myself look happier about my post I shall give a smiley, but you've to wait for it...
Phil, I think this should serve as a pretty good explanation.
https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/make-insecticide-from-cigarettes-and-coffee/
https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/make-insecticide-from-cigarettes-and-coffee/
Elbert:
Across the studies I read on lung cancer, environmental hazards ranked right up there with cigarettes. One article made it sound like coal burning communities greatly increase risk. Another study put a rural smoker's lungs as being equal with an urban non-smoker, and that's cigarettes, not mere pipes.
When are you going to stop worrying about dying and actually enjoy your pipes? Guess what? Oxygen kills as well. I have yet to see someone die from smoking pipes. You consume much worse things daily compared to tobacco and some of its additives.
Set a reasonable limit for how much you want to enjoy your pipe, do not inhale, and the rewards should far exceed the risks.
That article is a crock. What would kill aphids is the detergent in the mix; blocks their pores, cannot breathe.
It also states that drinking the extract from two cigarettes will kill a person; I suppose it would taste nasty, so I am not going to personally disprove it. Besides, the mixture takes way to long to prep!
Anyway, I took the first statement to mean smoking a pipe on the porch was a good insect repellant.
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