Should a Non Smoker Take up the Hobby?

[ignaciojn]

Those are both aromatic blends.
I will tell you my experience. Based on very poor advice by an old codger, my first blends were all aromatics (vanilla, chocolate, whisky), and I tell you, I was about to chalk off the pipe as disgusting. Fortunately, I bought a tin of Dunhill's Standard Mixture on a whim, and boy what a change. Was love at first puff.
I do hope you like your tobaccos. The blends you got are certainly superior to the OTC stuff I tried. But do try to get a mild english or virginia based blend too.
Best of luck.

 

[olkofri]

Like many, I started with aromatic blends; and I can attest that they can be finicky for a beginner. But, it's like learning to drive: I learned on a standard: it was hard going, but I learnt, and after that I could drive an automatic no problem. Learning with aros is like learning to drive a standard: English blends, which tend to burn cooler can give you an easier intro to pipe smoking, but if you manage to tame aros and smoke them, you can smoke anything.
Guess one thing I'm trying to say is this: if the aros give you tongue burn/bite, don't give up on piping. Try with some English blends as suggested. It's also recommended you try English blends so that you decide what kind of toby, upon the whole, you prefer to smoke.
I don't care for English blends much. I've a sweet tooth and I prefer aromatics, even with their higher learning curve.

 

[ignaciojn]

Really? I always thought aromatics were easier to smoke. I wouldn't know, my experience was very short lived.
My issue is with the artificial taste. When I smoke, I want to taste tobacco, not vanilla.
But this is not the place for this topic.

 

[olkofri]

Ignacio: aros tend to burn hotter because of their toppings and because you can't dry them as much as English blends without losing some flavour, hence their tendence to bite more than non-aromatics. I agree that they are not 'beginner blends', yet lots of B&M's sell them as so, maybe because they think beginners will be drawn to the room note (weird, because the smoker normally can't smell the room note anyway).
When **I** want to taste tobacco, I smoke a cigar.

 

[mamaraewyn]

I figured starting with aromatics would be a little like when I started drinking coffee. I drank Mochas because of the chocolate component and less coffee like... Now I like my pure flat whites and mochas are kinda sickly to me.
Will look at other blends and see what I can find. Everyone has different tastes and I'll just have to try and see what mine is.

I know what I can get easily at a Smokemart etc is Dr Pat and Dunhill... so I'll wait until my pipe comes and see from there I guess...
Feel free to link me to any other threads you think I might benefit from. I appreciate the opinions and advice everyone is giving. Helps me get a peoples perspective instead of 'what the internet says'.

 

[mikethompson]

I look at it this way as well- what if someone were to ask, 'should I take up drinking?' Yes there are risks and dangers involved with excessive drinking, just as there is with excessive smoking. Moderation is the key. But developing a palette for scotch can be just as rewarding as one for tobaccos.

 

[arvetus]

What Mike Thompson said!
For me, I was and for all practical purposes, am a non smoker. I do enjoy a cigar a couple times a year on special holiday gatherings and at other special occasions (a friend's wedding, babies being born, family reunion, etc). May have 1-3 cigars during the year. I by no means am hooked on it, and I can smoke one and then go months or a year until the next annual holiday before I have another and it doesn't bother me one bit. I enjoy relaxing with friends and enjoying the flavor of the cigar.
Same with pipe smoking. I am very new to the "hobby" and have smoked 2 whole pipe bowls of tobacco in my life. Now, I did try a bowl of 1-Q last night and I wasn't really impressed with it. It is one of my first smokes, but I didn't feel there was a lot of flavor. My first smoke was Peter Stokkebye 17 English Lux on Sunday night and I thought that was amazing! But maybe I'll grow into the 1-Q later and maybe I will appreciate the lighter feel occasionally as I have a feeling I will like the heavier blends as I delve further into the tobacco thing. But my grandfather smoked a pipe and I admire the distinguished look of it. I do enjoy just sitting and smoking my pipe, the few times I have, and I do not feel the need throughout the day to go have another smoke such as those of my co workers who use cigarettes.
My vice is coffee and I drink it black. I always have.

When I started drinking beer, I drank stuff like Dos Equis. Now I can't stand it and I drink stouts, porter and pale ales. But I don't need to drink beer at all. But I like it.

I expect my taste in tobacco to be preferring the stronger ones, but time will tell. I myself don't intend for it to become an addiction. I just like to do it. Just as I enjoy my beer after cutting the grass on a hot, summer day.
Certain people have addictive qualities and it may become an addition. There's nothing wrong with that...we all have our thing. But if you don't want to be addicted to it, be very careful. However, one thing I can say is that if you do find yourself relapsing to an addiction, pipes are far less harmful than cigarettes although risky in their own right. But the idea of smoking a pipe (to MOST pipe smokers) is to enjoy it. If you enjoy it, then perhaps the risk is worth it. If you don't enjoy it and it's just something you "need" to do in order to function, then question if it's worth it.
FWIW...from a fellow non smoker who you probably don't want smoking advice from.

 

[mawnansmiff]

As one who suffers from chronic emphysema and COPD I would strongly suggest you give this serious consideration.
I got to the point that moving from one room to another left me breathless, any physical exertion would leave me gasping. I cut down from five bowls a day to three and that has helped but I still suffer. And I'm only 56!
I should point out that my health issues are largely down to 36 years of RYO smoking, it was that that moved me over to the pipe in 2015.
As enjoyable as pipesmoking is, your body and general health will take a hit.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[ray47]

If I was a non-smoker I'd recommend you not smoke. I smoke a pipe, use dip and smoke cigarettes after each meal or when I'm drinking beer or mixed drinks and I have COPD. Guess I have a death wish, but it's my decision and I'm comfortable with the decision. To be honest, I wish I'd never started smoking. It's up to you.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Should? No. May? Yes, it's a free-ish country in which you live.

 

[mso489]

Should you take up pipe smoking? Not necessarily. It's not a yes or no answer. I grew up with a pipe smoker who finally quit at age 65 for a second career in a non-smoking work place. I smoked off and on in college, mostly small cigars, once or twice a week. In the Navy I rarely smoked, just the occasional cigar ashore. After I got married, I smoked a pipe moderately because my wife had a heavy cigarette habit, and I then quit in solidarity with her, to help her stay off nails. I took it up when my second wife, after I was a widower, had serious medical problems and was in the hospital and rehab. When I got home, I needed something to center myself, and alcohol just slowed me down too much, and I was on call day and night to return to the medical facilities. A bowl of tobacco was about right. So I came back to pipe smoking under some stress. If you are doing fine without it, perhaps don't start. Try walking, meditation, yoga first, as I did. You'll know if pipe smoking has a needed place in your life.

 

[curl]

I've told my grandkids to not smoke until their playing days are over.

I think for most people, 40 is the age when you can't keep up or you're slowing down your team mates.

In other words, when you've hung up your spikes or sneakers, it's okay to pick up a pipe.

I just wish I had done that myself.

 

[timt]

You'll know if pipe smoking has a needed place in your life.

Some people carry around a little more anxiety than others for one reason or another. I don't drink. I use to smoke cigs and dip Copenhagen but they're a harsh fix in my opinion and quit them years ago. I picked up the pipe this past year to relax a little and enjoy the quiet solitude that goes with it. The hobby aspect of it wasn't even on the radar when I started but has added another source of enjoyment as I go along.

 

[crashthegrey]

No. Don't start now. It's probably too late.

 

[cigrmaster]

If you have to ask the question then you probably shouldn't start. Pipe smoking can get expensive if you really get into it. Are you prepared to spend thousands of dollars if you become enamored with it?

 

[techie]

I started smoking the pipe just a few weeks ago for no other reason than I wanted to. I wasn't dealing with anxiety, a way to relax, nothing of the like. I was simply enamored with the "idea" of it and the collecting part. So far, I am enjoying it quite a bit and will continue so long as I enjoy it. If it becomes a chore or an addiction, I'll quit.
If you're likewise enamored with the pipe, pipe tobaccos, and pipe culture, give it a try. Don't spend a lot. Just try it and see if it becomes an enjoyable part of your life.

Try walking, meditation, yoga first, as I did. You'll know if pipe smoking has a needed place in your life.

MSO, I also do yoga. Have been for over 26 years. I don't see it as an alternative to something else, just another part of my daily routine.

 

[irishearl]

Never smoked anything, (well other than a weed growing in popularity legally :wink: ), prior to taking up the pipe @ 26. Am 64+ now. So, should a non-smoker take up the hobby? Sure.

 

[scooterdoo]

I would not bother with herbal blends. You truly don't know the risks and there are far fewer positives from a flavour perspective. Tobacco smoking is obviously not safe but nobody can truthfully say they were unaware of the risks at this point in history. It has been widely known for years that tobacco use can possibly damage one's health so obviously you have to go into pipe smoking with both eyes open and be honest about the effects.

I'm going to second this. Sure, tobacco isn't great for you, but the effects have been studied and the findings are somewhat conclusive. I wouldn't trust an herbal blend. It most likely hasn't been FDA tested, and it seems very unlikely smoking any organic matter would be substantially less harmful than you than tobacco. The reason tobacco smoking leads to cancer isn't so much the plant but the constant irritation.

 

[newbroom]

If it weren't for the nicotine, I wouldn't smoke. A pipe, smoked w/o inhaling affords the safest way to acquire this soothing component with the added benefit of flavor and a somewhat meditative tactile 'ritual'.

I've found that the simplest pipes and tobaccos are entirely satisfying and relatively inexpensive, after 4 yrs of trial and error.

 

[bigpond]

Hmm, well...I’m a non-smoker and I smoke a pipe. I’m not sure the terminology is quite right, but I don’t have a tobacco history outside of the pipe. I don’t care about nicotine, I only smoke a few days per week and I care about my health. As far as addiction is concerned, well, experience has proven repeatedly that there is none for my usage. I often travel for weeks at time on biz and never smoke while away and I’ve never experienced any cravings, full stop. In fact I just came back yesterday from a week away.
Anyway, as far as impact to overall health is concerned, I am recreationally a competitive cyclist. My performance hasn’t suffered since picking up the pipe but I don’t smoke the night before a race because I need all the wind I can get and there’s no way to prevent inhaling some “second hand” smoke which causes a bit of chest tightness for me.
I can post a bunch more health science specific stuff related to pipe smoking that will bolster both sides of an academic argument if you’re interested but perhaps since yuo’ve placed your order we should just let you have your Gandalf moment in peace :D :puffpipe: