Smoking Indoors

[seilerjp]

I have no children in the house. I rarely smoke around my wife. I have a den in our basement in which I smoke an average of one bowl per evening. The door is closed. I have two air cleaners running all evening. When I am done, I spray some air freshner and go to bed. One of the air cleaners is on a timer and runs all night. The next day you cannot tell that there has been any pipe smoking in the room.

 

[pylorns]

When my son was born I stopped smoking in the house. I have a workshop with AC, internet, computers, tv etc. that I smoke in.

 

[cigrmaster]

You should find the smallest closet in the house and start smoking in it with your kids. Let them get their lungs in shape for the crap they are going to ingest when they go out into the world.
You should do what you feel comfortable with. I believe second hand smoke is the biggest bunch of shit going. I grew up in a world filled with smoke, everywhere you went there was smoke. Hospitals, restaurants, airplanes, arenas like Boston Garden( you should have seen the cloud of smoke in there) and not once did I or anyone I know have any health issues. My parents smoked in the car with the windows closed and I lived. Now if you have kids who do have breathing issues, then obviously you cannot smoke around them.

 

[buffalopat]

Wow, such a variety of responses. I work until 1AM at my job, so kids are asleep when I get home. I lit up the pipe the last three days while unwinding in front of the TV. My wife didn't care and you couldn't even tell by morning, no residual smell at all.

 

[phred]

My wife is a classically trained singer whose mother (a long-term cigarette smoker) died of lung cancer. My father (a non-smoker) died of a lung ailment at 59 after growing up in a smoking household, while his mother (not sure if she smoked or not - I never saw her do so) lived to be 97. Knowing exactly how an individual is going to react to environmental hazards is a serious guessing game, so I tend to discount individual experience in favor of statistics and relative risk.
Personally, I don't smoke in the house largely for aesthetic reasons - I've never been a fan of stale smoke smell, and as a result I tend to clean my pipes more than might be absolutely necessary. If I had kids, that would factor in as well, as there are documented risks associated with developing lungs and environmental pollutants (up to and including off-gassing from carpeting) that I'd prefer not to gamble with. That's my take, for what it's worth. I was paranoid enough about cancer statistics when I first thought about smoking a pipe that I did a lot of homework - and the fact that I'm still here a couple of years later should tell you what I finally decided. ::
OTOH, if I had a room that I could isolate from central air, with a direct exhaust fan and a fully sealed doorway (like a utility room/laundry room set up), I'd be inclined to turn that into a smoking lounge. I've already been granted enthusiastic provisional approval for a free standing "man cave" outbuilding, should we buy a lot big enough to add one when we buy our next place, and a couple of places we've looked at have a "bedroom/study" in the basement that could be easily isolated.
Good on you for thinking of your family - sounds like they're likewise considerate of your choice to smoke, so you seem to be in great shape as far as that goes.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-cigrmaster
You should find the smallest closet in the house and start smoking in it with your kids. Let them get their lungs in shape for the crap they are going to ingest when they go out into the world.

Unfortunately that's not how it works. That's almost like suggesting that you lick a bar of lead to get used to it. Your lungs are at their best with no exposure, they aren't the kind of mechanism that can "toughen up" (though they do mostly repair over time).
I should elaborate on my comment about second hand smoke though.

It's not as though I think a few minutes in a room with smoke is going to kill you, it's a question of general air quality. If I smoke in a room that I spend a lot of time in otherwise I'm going to be breathing that smoke for a period of time afterwards, which I just think is unnecessary compared to smoking outside where I get pretty darn close to zero exposure (as long as I don't get my puffing and breathing mixed up).

What I'm aiming for is a quality of life that is effectively the same as if I didn't smoke at all, which may sound fairly restricting from a pipe enthusiast point of view, but if you're surrounded by people on the verge of throwing out the whole concept entirely (I'm pretty sure tax money is only thing keeping tobacco legal in Canada), it only seems prudent to show that it can be done with no compromise.

 

[bphilli75]

My wife and I were always fans of incense. So were my sons. When I took up the pipe, they accepted it as another form of incense. My oldest son (13) often says he loves it when I smoke my pipe, inside or out. He says he doesn't know why, that it just makes him feel that "things are good."
I find that pipe smoke doesn't leave the nasty residual odor. I keep the Latakia blends outside unless I know no one will be home for quite a while. Also, I only smoke a bowl or two per day. When I do smoke inside, the house has time to rest.
I grew up around two-pack-a-day parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and an older sibling. Often there were up to six or more people smoking cigs at once indoors. They never went outside to smoke. I'm an endurance athlete now. My wife is a personal trainer and my oldest boy is a runner - up to 10k. I just think any form of smoking gets an unfair rap. The detriments of a little smoke in the home are just overstated in my humble, non-healthcare expertise having opinion.

 

[redbeard]

I don't smoke inside, always outside. My girlfriends dad smokes cigs in the house all day, he's downstairs and on the totally opposite side of the house and I can always smell it creeping in the room. Absolutely bothers the crap out of me. I understand if the people in the house don't mind, but when you say it bothers you and it continues to happen then it's a problem. I'm not putting down anyone so please don't take it that way. But out on courtesy to others in the house I will go outside to smoke.

 

[sablebrush52]

With kids in the house, smoke outside. That's a no brainer.

 

[mcitinner1]

My first eleven years (prior to the 1964 announcement)of growing up, more than half of the adults around me smoked where ever they were. I'm feel confident in saying any effect from this was MY NUTE.

 

[settersbrace]

My wife could smell a Pixie fart on the downwind side of a sewage treatment plant. That being said I have been getting away with smoking Va's and VaBers and the like late at night with the windows open after she goes upstairs to bed. I have witnessed just how powerfully sensitive her olfactory senses are and find it amazing that she doesn't detect what's going on literally under her nose. We have no small kids, my youngest at home still is 21 and she's even worse with the smoke. Latakia anything would never get past either of them as they complain about the smell when I'm outside!

 

[ocpsdan]

I have a smoking lounge/ office and no lil' uns. My girlfriend of 4 years would just as soon light up with me as not and we agree the rest of the house is off limits for smoking. It works out just fine.

 

[saltedplug]

As regards the smell of smoked tobacco, by far it is the least objectionable.
As regards the health risk, I'm fine with it for me, but if I had children, I'm unsure if that would be good for them, or if not good, then at least acceptable. I worry about my cat.

 

[natibo]

I'm surprised that many folks on the forum believe the slanted research on 2nd hand smoke. (e.g. not smoking indoors if you have kids). If you really believe it's that harmful, why do you smoke at all?
I have kids, and I smoke indoors. I do not believe the dangers of 2nd hand smoke have been thoroughly proven.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

-natibo
I'm surprised that many folks on the forum believe the slanted research on 2nd hand smoke. (e.g. not smoking indoors if you have kids). If you really believe it's that harmful, why do you smoke at all?

It is possible to smoke a pipe without getting any of it in your lungs. You can drink water without drowning just fine, the same thing applies here.

 

[matchstickman]

I don't have any kids of my own, but between the misses and I we have about 8,000 nieces and nephews.
I may be exaggerating that number a little.
Anyway, whenever we are looking after the nieces and nephews, I don't smoke in the same room as them for their consideration. My office is equipped with an air purifier so the scent doesn't linger too terribly long. I don't really smoke a ton anyway, so it's not really a big deal for me to go without when they're here if I have to, but if I really crave a bowl I just go to the office. Problem solved.

 

[northernstar]

Right now, I am smoking some OGS inside, but, front door and back door are open, and I have a few fans on. Also, nobody will be home for another 5 hours or so, so it can vent out good.