Nicotine sensitive people, why do you smoke a pipe?

[aldecaker]

@redpanda: Of course they wouldn't, which is why the "if" is in there. Some people on this forum may smoke pipes exclusively, making nicotine content an issue for them. I get my nicotine from cigarettes and Copenhagen long cut. (I guess that makes me not a nicotine denier!) I do actually smoke a pipe for the flavor exclusively, because it is not a very efficient nic delivery device.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, if I hotbox through a pipe, I'm not getting but a tiny fraction of the nicotine and even less of the flavor, but if I set back and smoke it on the verge of going out, i get more flavor and my blood has more time to absorb it over the longer period of time. My tall narrow pipes give me more of that nicotine satisfaction and more flavors most of the time. Of course, sometimes a faster smoke in a larger pipe can open up a blend. Just depends on my mood and the tobacco.

 

[bigpond]

This thread has had some turns.
On another note:

You know Ive been thinking about this... I wonder how much, one's cadence, affects the absorption of nicotine through the blood vessels... I for one have a very fast aggressive cadence, always have and I reckon will until I die... so with that said, maybe thats the reason it gives me more of a feeling of energy and focus than of drowsiness.

Cadence has a direct correlation to the absorption of nicotine by manipulating the temperature of combustion. Smoking fast increases the temperature at the ember which increases the alkalinity of the smoke. Alkalinity makes nicotine more available to your system.
Part of the reason we tend to become more aware of nicotine over the course of a long smoke is because the mucosa are a less efficient vector than the lungs and smoke tends to become more alkaline as we smoke our way through a bowl (this last bit comes from Russ O).

In a world where most people are lying most of the time, I do not see nicotine dependency as a horrible thing or even a bad one. If the rest of your house is in order, or mostly so, worry not about this. I do see pipes as a healthier method of smoking than absorbing smoke through the lungs, but one can always smoke a cigarette with the mouth alone.

:crazy:

 

[12pups]

Because the chicks dig it.

Seriously, though -- no addiction to nicotine here, or if I do get one, I guess I struggle through. Though quick and powerful, the physical addiction would only be severe for a couple days, easy enough to weather out. And be totally gone in less than two weeks.
I smoke low-nicotine blends not because they are low in nicotine, but because my favorite blends incidentally have low nicotine. I smoke for the nostalgia (feels like a constant in my life, since I was very young). And for the flavor. And for the soothing, contemplative moment ... which I guess I can get a number of other ways.
I might just quit altogether, though (doing my insurance renewal homework right now, seeing how much my insurance has gone up...).

 

[redpanda]

I have been a member here for about a month or so now and discussions like this one have been a real eye opener for me. I had not realised that most of the pipe smokers are also cigarettes smokers. Having quit cigs and smoking the pipe exclusively for a year now, I can not imagine doing both. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with cigarettes. I smoked them for 16 years. For me, the pipe delivers a sufficient nicotine kick and I am content. A lot of people here talk about nicotine dependence. I think quitting something that is not a necessity for the human existence is a matter of desire and strenght ofcourse. If you had to, you would quit. The only things we can't quit are air,water and food. Nicotine is something that some people just like and do not really desire to quit. That is IMHO ofcourse.

 

[12pups]

Got me thinking now... Checking myself, backing that up...
- Cigarettes do nothing for me. I don't want them, don't like them -- not since I gave them up in 1987
- Cigars... eh, depending on who's offering one to me, but even then, not really into it... more into the "moment" with that person or that group, all of us having cigars ... but not something I would sit out back and enjoy on my own, as I do my pipe
- I was addicted to nicotine once... for about 17 years. Two packs a day. That was hard to quit, definitely. Real discipline. No tobacco after that for... lemme see... about 25 years. No tobacco of any kind. Was scared pipe smoking would "awaken" the addiction. But nope. I go a week or more between smokes sometimes; other times several bowls in a row -- as I hope to today!
I think I am more in line with those that say it's not about the nicotine. (Though I certainly understand that for some, it is... guess it varies with the person!)

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I'm pretty sure that even if I did like Nicotine I wouldn't be able to get enough in the average bowl. Maybe if I smoked nothing but strong blends, but trying new blends is much more interesting.

I'm about 50lbs heavier than my brother and he says he has trouble finishing the average bowl. The few times I've felt I got too much Nicotine from a pipe was on my third bowl in a row with aromatics, or one good sized bowl of Nightcap.

I also have doubts about my ability to appreciate it in general, I've never met a pain killer I liked either, and apparently people get chemically addicted to those too.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Redpanda:

The only things we can't quit are air,water and food.

Actually the only thing I've never heard of someone totally depriving themselves of is air (by willpower alone). Sure you'll eventually die if you cut off your food and water supply but if he really wants to even a starving man can look at it and say no.

 

[redpanda]

Frozenchurchwarden: Food, yes. There have been studies of individuals starving for months before critical damage occurs to the liver. As for water though, you are gone after 3 to 4 days. This is really getting off topic btw, but it's just that I do not believe in addiction in general.

 

[warren]

I do not believe in addiction in general.

Neither mental nor physical? If not, you've led a very sheltered life.

 

[bigpond]

I do not believe in addiction in general.

Good thing belief isn't a prerequisite for facts. :nana:

 

[redpanda]

Bigpond: Many facts long accepted as truth in Medicine have been highly debatable lately.
Warren: define sheltered please.

 

[warren]

If you've never met a mentally or physically addicted person you haven't been around much, led a pretty sheltered life. Small town maybe. Limited number of acquaintances? It's not a matter of what you think. It's a matter medical fact, no matter what your opinion is. Can addictions be overcome? Sure. That doesn't mean addiction does not exist.
It just seems to me that your little world must be a happy, happy place when you can simply deny certain realities or truths. Good on you!

 

[deathmetal]

Can addictions be overcome? Sure. That doesn't mean addiction does not exist.

In my view, many things are addictive. Coffee, sugar, alcohol, weed, sex, exercise, etc.
Addiction is the brain accustomed to a jolt of pleasure in a cycle and then feeling a need to restore that pleasure.
Almost anything pleasurable is physiologically addictive.
Thus... many addictions are healthy and helpful. Nicotine may be one of them.

 

[warren]

Or, it may not.

 

[redpanda]

Warren: I was born and grew up in a big city. I have lived in a big city all my life and still do today. I had many friends when I was a kid and still know a lot of people today. I do not consider my world to be a little happy place. My life, just like everyone else's I believe, is a string of both fortunate and unfortunate events and happy and unhappy moments.
Now,on the subject of addiction and whether or not it exists, let us have our differing opinions, but please, in heaven's name, do not tell me it does not matter what i think because it matters quite a lot to me.

 

[bigpond]

Addiction is the brain accustomed to a jolt of pleasure in a cycle and then feeling a need to restore that pleasure.

You could say that about anything fun. That's not addiction.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

Bigpond: Many facts long accepted as truth in Medicine have been highly debatable lately.

That's always true. In this case, the definitions and diagnosis of addiction are much more codified than it was in years past (as of 2010). At least in the US.

 

[cobguy]

It's all about those tobacco flavors for me ... Lady N is just an added bonus if she shows up.
I'll start my day with black coffee and a Burley blend but it's because Burley tastes great with coffee, not because of the nicotine.
Even when I grab a cigar, it's for the flavors ... and Lady N always shows up there. :P

 

[phil67]

I do not believe in addiction in general.

Amazing! Tell that to the thousands of people who take crack, heroine, cocaine, alcohol etc., and then commit crimes, lose their families and are arrested numerous times simply because they merely have a liking for the substance and are not 'addicted' to it. I don't mean to be offensive, albeit this will certainly come off sounding as such, and my apology if it does, but that must be one of the most ridiculous statements I've heard in a very long time.

 

[loneredtree]

I thought that addition was characterized the way Bigpond did. I wonder if the cigarette companies have added a chemical to enhance the addition of nicotine or was addictive on it own to the cigarettes that is not in the pipe tobacco. Phil or Warren can you stop pipe smoking for a length of time with out effects other than wanting to?