Should a Non Smoker Take up the Hobby?

[scooterdoo]

I smoke a pipe because I like the taste of pipeweed, not the nicotine, which I almost never notice.

Whether you know it or not, in one way or another, part of your smoke is for the nicotine.

 

[warren]

Nicotine, she's a seductive mistress. You may not even notice her but, she's there. You don't need to admit to others, we know. Some won't even admit it to themselves but ... we know.

 

[scooterdoo]

lol @ Warren, exactly.
It's like saying you drink Scotch for the taste. Sure, you do, but you also drink it for the alcohol and would almost certainly NOT drink it if it contained no alcohol. It's part of the experience. Just like nicotine is part of the pipe smoking experience.

 

[arvetus]

It's like saying you drink Scotch for the taste. Sure, you do, but you also drink it for the alcohol and would almost certainly NOT drink it if it contained no alcohol. It's part of the experience. Just like nicotine is part of the pipe smoking experience.

Exactly. I'm still very new and only experienced light nic hit with a blend I'm trying. Very nice. Just as I enjoy the relaxed feeling from having an adult beverage. It's just going to be part of the experience. You can enjoy it without becoming addicted...well...some can anyway

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, I used to not smoke for nicotine. I'd drop an incense cone into my pipe and just enjoy the exotic flavors of India. Then, I tried smoking flowers, potpourri, and I found that when dried to crunchy they didn't burn my tongue as badly. Then I decided to start snorting perfumes, not right out of the bottle, but spritzed onto the necks of female strangers. But, a court order put a stop to that. Then, after an all night bender of tasting free samples of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, I dragged myself into a tobacconist, where the first bowl was free, and I have been hooked ever since.
There are different degrees and effects of addiction. I can easily put my pipe down for weeks at a time. But, I think about it. I definitely crave it, but not like that character on Reefer Madness, but just find myself thinking about it. I also have to look for something to help me fall asleep when I am not smoking. And, first chance I get I am firing up my pipe. When I vacation, I look for smoking rooms in motels or hotels. I look in advance for B&Ms to explore in the area. I plan to smoke in rental cars. I plan my rotation in advance for vacations. I have even planned with my kids that if I should require assistance in my old age to do their best to keep me at home, so that I can continue smoking my pipes. I really don't spend as much time thinking about any other hobby or past-time. Call it what you want, but I am just going to be honest with myself, and call it an addiction.

If a blend reported no nicotine, I wouldn't be interested in even trying it.

 

[crashthegrey]

Michael, you often have words that I cannot find.

 

[brian64]

It's like saying you drink Scotch for the taste. Sure, you do, but you also drink it for the alcohol and would almost certainly NOT drink it if it contained no alcohol. It's part of the experience. Just like nicotine is part of the pipe smoking experience.

If a blend reported no nicotine, I wouldn't be interested in even trying it.

I agree completely. But otoh, if tobacco was no longer available, I would not be the least bit interested in nicotine ingestion in any other form.

 

[warren]

I would not be the least bit interested in nicotine ingestion in any other form.

Strangely, to me, that makes perfect sense.

if tobacco was no longer available,

Pipe tobacco blends I presume.

 

[brian64]

Pipe tobacco blends I presume.

Or cigars...or chew for that matter...but I haven't chewed for several years now (although I'm occasionally tempted to bite into a plug).
When I have chewed it's only been sporadically, and only leaf stuff like Red Man or Levi Garrett...dip is WAY too much nicotine for me.

 

[bigpond]

It's like saying you drink Scotch for the taste. Sure, you do, but you also drink it for the alcohol and would almost certainly NOT drink it if it contained no alcohol. It's part of the experience. Just like nicotine is part of the pipe smoking experience.

Hey, strawman arguments are easy to do. Sometimes they even use formal logic. Alcohol is addictive, so is nicotine. If you have three beers in a week are you addicted to alcohol? Medical science says that is not enough to qualify for an addiction. So moderate consumption is not addictive.

Call it what you want, but I am just going to be honest with myself, and call it an addiction.

If a blend reported no nicotine, I wouldn't be interested in even trying it.

And here come the ad hominem’s.
I would smoke a blend without nicotine if it was tasty. I’m a big fan if hh burley Flake which has a level of nicotine below my perception. Does my enjoyment of the blend without noticing the impact of the nicotine make me dishonest with myself, as you suggest? I don’t think so. I think it’s pretty simple to imagine that a guy that’s smokes all day long and has done so for decades might have a hard time understanding someone that smokes only a few times per week has a different experience. Hey look, no ad hominem. Wasn’t even hard.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Bigpond, it seems really important for you, that we believe (or acknowledge) that you are not addicted. Sure, you are hereby not addicted, if you say so. :: You may stop smoking now, and never pick up a pipe again.

 

[scooterdoo]

Hey, strawman arguments are easy to do. Sometimes they even use formal logic. Alcohol is addictive, so is nicotine. If you have three beers in a week are you addicted to alcohol? Medical science says that is not enough to qualify for an addiction. So moderate consumption is not addictive.

An analogy is not a strawman. Interestingly enough, your "argument" above could reasonably be called a strawman. I was not even sort of trying to claim you were addicted to nicotine.

And here come the ad hominem’s.

LOL. Cosmic's point was most certainly not an ad hominem attack. Are you just throwing around random logical fallacies you've come across on the internet? :rofl:
I think you need to relax a bit. Maybe, have a pipe and review this site: https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

 

[brian64]

In any debate the terms must be defined...and I doubt it would be possible to reach a consensus on the precise definition of addiction/addicted.
EDIT: or to be more clear, where exactly the line is drawn. Personally I'd say it's not a cut and dry thing...you can call it addiction but there is a long scale of varying degrees of addiction. As I commented previously, I know for myself that I'm much more addicted to caffeine than I am to nicotine.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I used to smoke RYOs constantly for 20 or so year(with occasional after-dinner cigars or bowl full of pipe )then switched to full-time pipesmoking but even today I must confess can't do without having a small cigar or one cigarette in between the bowl, unfortunately, I ain't gotten time to smoke enough my pipes (3 medium bowlfulls is my daily minimum intake, )yet lately I have been experimenting with this traditional American style L Garret Chewing tobacco (a generous gift from our forum member Condorlover1) which I found is quite enjoyable, nonetheless in order to please my dentist I would rather choose to keep the intakes of this molasses-rich stuff at lower possible level,very addictive and tasty product shall I say.

 

[bigpond]

I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, Cosmic, aside from the fact that different people have different relationships with the pipe and that it is possible for folks to smoke with moderation, which was what the thread was originally about.
Scooter, it’s not my fault that you don’t understand what you’re writing.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, as a debate coach, I just laugh when terminology gets tossed about. First off, this wasn't a debate. I can say that I am addicted, and that I like dry tobacco, without it meaning that YOU are addicted, or that YOU should smoke dry tobacco. But, to tell me that you are not addicted because of AB or C, well, that is just opening yourself up to a bunch of scrutiny, mostly in fun. I hope I didn't make you angry. And, you can be whatever you want to be... unless it's a butterfly, then that is a tiptoeing on the crazy side of the fence. ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I’m not trying to convince of anything aside fact that different people have different relationships with the pipe

Amen, I 100% agree with this

 

[bigpond]

Don’t forget to post on scooter too Cosmic :rofl:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, since Scooter is right about me not attacking you via a strawman, nor did I make an ad hominem attack. I made fun of a concept that was posted. And, I am not sure when you suggest that I made a strawman argument. If you can point it out, and it is truly a strawman, I will apologize.

 

[arvetus]

I'm physically addicted to caffeine. I need at least 2 cups of coffee minimum every morning in order to be able to get out of bed the next morning. If I do not get them, I will not be able to get out of bed due to the migraine. Last time it happened when I was sick in bed and I didn't get out of bed for a couple days, my wife had to go figure out the coffee pot because I couldn't get out of bed because my head hurt so bad.
I began learning pipe smoking because: 1.) I am just shy of 40 and I was curious. 2.) I think cigars taste better than they smell, so I wanted the best of both worlds. 3.) Imagery. 4.) Relaxation.
Now that I've had a small taste, I don't think I would smoke a nicotine free blend. I wouldn't say I am addicted...I haven't smoked since earlier this week and it doesn't bother me. I never crave a cigar just because I wanted the nic hit.

I also haven't had a beer since last weekend, and that doesn't bother me either. I love beer and I like getting a little beer buzz. Since I acquired the taste for it 20 years ago, I now love the different flavors and I love savoring my beverage and enjoy sampling different brews. I love how craft brewing is exploding. But I sure as hell don't drink O'Douls. If O'Douls was all there was, I wouldn't have learned how to drink beer. Or whiskey. Same with smoking a pipe. There's my correlation. I don't consider myself addicted, but I do enjoy it and think about it when not doing it, which is most of the time.