No Nicotine, No Problem

[mso489]

I quit my pipe before oral surgery, nothing too gruesome but needful to prepare for speedy healing "at my age." I'm now still holding off afterwards, letting the gum grow back. The surgeon called this "developing the architecture" of the gums. I wondered how I'd do without any nicotine. As I have always suspected, that's not the attraction of pipe smoking for me. I don't get giddy, moody (any more than usual), or craving the weed. That's just not what draws me. I look forward to the ritual and rumination that goes with it, but the nicotine isn't the joy. When I get the occasional buzz, that's nice, but I never pack a pipe with that in mind. People are widely different in this; for some it's the whole point, and then there's a wide range of responses, all the way to people who have little or no reaction to nicotine at all. I have a little, but so far, nothing habit forming. Just interesting to run the experiment, since I had to do it for dental/medical reasons anyway.

 

[rdavid]

I'm fairly certain nicotine does play a part in my consumption of pipe tobacco. I did smoke cigarettes in the past but was never really a heavy smoker. Averaged about a half pack a day and couldn't stand my first cig until well after breakfast.
However, I find now that I do smoke a bowl, usually two, with my morning coffee. I literally get out of bed thinking about coffee and my first bowl, normally around 6:00 a.m. when I'm off work. I work 14 days on, 14 days off so no way do I have time to smoke in the morning as I go in at 5:00 a.m. It doesn't bother me at all when I can't smoke first thing and usually get my first bowl sometime in the afternoon when things settle down a little.
Guess, what I'm trying to say is that I do enjoy the nicotine buzz also but haven't found myself craving it... yet!

 

[jmagen]

I'm the same. Dipped and chewed for 25 years, and was an absolute nic junky. With pipe smoking, I can enjoy tobacco on my terms.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Without nicotine, I would have no interest in smoking. I don't understand the ritual for ritual sake. I kind of understand the ritual of the sake of getting my nicotine. But, smoking just to be smoking... might as well get a vape. If you're not getting anything out of it, then why go through all of the... well, actually every aspect of it is vile. Why subject yourself and everyone around you with all of the vileness of smoking... for nothing.

 

[rdavid]

Hey Michael. I'm thinking you've been smoking for a few years now correct and I believe you smoke multiple bowls a day?
Surely you've become accustomed to nicotine and I wondered if you can still feel it as an everyday smoker. I know Embers is a frequent smoker and he's lost all sensitivity to nicotine. I would hate to lose that aspect of pipe smoking as nicotine does contribute to the stress relief part of it and my ability to put up with stupid people when commuting 5 hours each way to work.

 

[brian64]

actually every aspect of it is vile.

Calling smoking vile is entirely subjective IMO. I'm fully aware that has become the standard view of it, but I consider nothing about it to be vile.
I simply love tobacco...everything about it, and consider the taste, smell and smoke to be a wonderful thing...and most definitely the nicotine is a key aspect of the enjoyment, but by no means the only attraction.
And I find pipe tobacco, pipe smoking, to be by far the most enjoyable way to consume tobacco.
I can understand however why someone would consider heavy consumption of low quality cigarettes to be "vile", but personally I don't think of that as real tobacco...just some kind of tobacco flavored product.
All of that said, I would add that if my only choice was nicotine-free tobacco I'm pretty sure I would give it up entirely because it would no longer be the same overall experience.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I believe that Embers says that he has never felt the effects to begin with. And, while I have become accustomed to some of the strongest blends, I don't believe that I would become so used to it that I would no longer feel it, and if that were the case, I would quit and maybe return to smoking once I have lost my acclimation to nicotine. I do take breaks from smoking from time to time anyways. But, smoking just to be smoking... ha ha, that is like chewing a big wad of nasty tobacco in your mouth, just to be doing it, blech!! Nasty for the sake of nasty?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

As a teen, I remember looking at packs of Camel Lights, and the delicately rolled cigarettes as kinda sexy. Having a lighter in my pocket, and flicking a butt into the street... cool like Brando.

Sure, sure, I get the whole appeal to smoking, whether it is cigarettes of pipes. Heck, seeing a woman smoking a cigarette still makes me take pause to observe.

But, by "vile", I refers to how the world sees us. We are on par with someone with a black tongue and brown teeth chewing away at a wad of tobacco in their mouth.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I fully agree with You Cosmic, I think if there wasn't nicotine in whatsoever tobacco products incl, pipe tobacco why would I smoke? Would I drink caffeine free coffee?Or Sugar-free sodas, my answer is again the same, No

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I don't think the nicotine alone is my draw. I enjoy the fragrance of a good tobacco burning. I enjoy the relaxation it creates. Then again, I don't work at a place I can have a pipe hanging from my mouth at all hours of the day. I have to take my moments during the day, and then enjoy a good blend when I get home.
Do I enjoy the hits from strong tobacco? Absolutely. But there are tobaccos out there from which I detect no nicotine at all and I enjoy them for the flavors and aromas they present. They can call it vile if they like, but I enjoy smoking my pipe and I enjoy the relaxation and calming atmosphere it provides me.
Everyone is different, and I can see how those that smoke all day, every day, one bowl after another might say "why bother if you don't have the nicotine?" Nicotine is not the only reason one loves to smoke a pipe. If it was, why smoke a pipe in the first place? You could easily say one could get their nicotine through vaping or cigs in that case. Even if no one claims they don't think of it as ritual, you're still smoking tobacco through a several hundred year old method instead of smoking cigs or vaping for a reason.
I can be just as happy smoking an aromatic in which there is hardly any nicotine present at all, as I can one with loads of it. Sometimes I prefer it, when I can sit down with a very good smelling aro that's light on the nicotine, just to enhance my evening.

 

[davet]

I don't crave the pipe as I did cigarettes and can go days without smoking a bowl but I'm sure the nicotine must be part of the enjoyment I experience.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't crave the pipe as I did cigarettes and can go days without smoking a bowl

Me too, but the addictions to cigarettes and pipes is very different.

 

[warren]

I'm with Michael on this one. No nicotine, no reason to smoke. It's like ice cream, if it's not high in butter fat, why eat it.

par with someone with a black tongue and brown teeth chewing away at a wad of tobacco in their mouth.

I represent that remark. It's the main reason for a dentist visit every six weeks, tobacco and coffee. "Dr. Relentless" works very hard to maintain my winning smile.

 

[mso489]

'Could be that I'm a nicotine addict in denial, but I don't think so. I know some are totally devoted to nic, and that's the single purpose of smoking. Right or wrong, I think I mostly enjoy the flavor and other sensory aspects, and the nic crops up enough for a buzz every 25th smoke, and it's good but not the reason for being. Sometimes we underestimate the depth of individuality. Not all common threads are entirely common ... something like that.

 

[mechanic]

I think i smoke for the nic. Mostly but is nice to have the pleasure of the flavors of tobacco it is nice to know some people can enjoy the pipe without the nic. Dependsy some vape juice has no nic dont see the point like drinking alchol free beer i enjoy the taste of beer but also drink it for the alchol effect

 

[danish]

I admire you MSO, for keeping up the mood during the needed abstinence.

It seems from various threads, that several other members here are good at frequent abstinence from smoking. During the day and during the week. What self discipline! Wish I could also enjoy tobacco, the same way as I occasionally enjoy alcohol. I love alcohol in the form of good beer, wine and whisky, both taste and effect, but I have not even been a weekend alcoholic, thank God. I do not remember my first pipe but I remember the moment I realized that I had become addicted to frequent use of pipe tobacco, 35+ years ago. That was of course never the plan, when I got attracted to the culture and taste of pipes and tobacco and for some years even cigarettes, for convenience sake. At least cigarettes are now past history for me. Those cigarettes were not exactly easy to part with for good, or even for a day.

 

[haparnold]

I'm not really a nicotine craver. It can certainly be enjoyable, but it's definitely not why I smoke, and I very rarely perceive nicotine from pipe smoke.
I'd not be surprised to find that former cigarette smokers are more likely to crave the nicotine than those of us that went directly to the pipe. But of course, that's just a guess purely uninformed by data.
Re: nicotine-free tobacco. I'd smoke it. I drink decaf coffee for the flavor when I don't want to be kept awake by the caffeine, and I'm sure I'd do the same with tobacco.

 

[luigi]

I smoke pipes for nic and flavours. It's a fact that nicotine IS addictive but I don't have problems to live without pipe tobacco. When I thought I was done with hand rolling tobacco for good and had lived without "rollies" for almost a year not long time ago I was defeated badly by the temptation and there I am again, rolling a cigarette to get a nic AND other additives' hit. Craving for the nastiest stuff hidden in cigarette tobacco is much worse than a mild, subtle desire one gets after a longer period without smoking a pipe. A generous bowlful of some strong blend can't satisfy one who is addicted to cigarettes. At least that's what I'm experiencing.

I can believe mso489. There's a proverb: 100 people, 100 wonders. Or: 100 women, 200 tits. :D We're all different.

 

[jpmcwjr]

All the above makes sense. I am not sure if I crave nicotine or not. (I did when I smoked coffin nails). I do look forward to my first morning smoke a lot, and less so for each subsequent bowls. It could be the taste, it could be the nic, or likely the combo.

 

[mikethompson]

If I am addicted to nicotine, it has to be the least addictive thing I've ever done. I can go for weeks and months without smoking a bowl. But everyone is different I suppose.