Tobacco is drying my tongue

[donatello]

Hello, I have posted a few times about being a new pipe smoker having trouble tasting, and tongue bite issues. I am to the conclusion that I am not burning my tongue at all it is just that tobacco dries it out to an uncomfortable feeling and that in turn causes me to not be able to taste very well, has anyone had this happen or know what to do? I usually like to drink coffee, tea, or beer when smoking

 

[dryseason91]

I cannot smoke without having a glass of something beside me to quench my mouth, usually either beer or water. I wouldn't worry about it. A half-hour's smoking will inevitably fatigue your mouth, and it's a good idea to keep it refreshed.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I am guessing that you have a sandpaper feeling on your tongue? If that describes it for you, you may just be smoking too much. I get that when I find a blend and gorge on it. I love just smoking a new discovery into the ground, but the drawback is having a dead tongue for a few days. Thus, I have to take a break from smoking.
If I am way off base, then I have no idea. I don't usually "dry" my tongue out. I have gotten tongue bite which is a chemical thing, tongue burn which is from heat, Cooked sinuses from keeping the smoke focused on a gland in my mouth for too long without moving it (this almost feels like a cold or flu), a salty taste from over-blowing my taste buds, and the sandpaper thing.
edit: and I just realized that I hit 1000 posts ::

 

[pylorns]

I always drink something while smoking, and if I find my mouth is dry or I've scorched my tongue - I do Biotine Dry Mouth Wash.

 

[tuold]

I'm curious if the drying effect is with any one type of tobacco. I have a couple blends I'm avoiding because of the drying effect. To me it seems more like a coating though. I can only get rid of it with whiskey...lots of whiskey.

 

[hodirty]

+1 for Biotene

 

[sjfine]

Believe it or not, I am using a Scope spray every once in a while while smoking. It not only works for the "dry mouth" issue, but it doesn't ruin the tobacco for me.
I actually use a spray in court also, instead of water. It seems to works better for me.
Weird, I know.

 

[goldsm]

When I smoke Aromatic tobacco I do usually drink coffee or tea with a little milk and sugar.

Sometime it give more flavor and sweet.

English or Viper smoke without a drink.

 

[andrew]

I get a dry mouth from burley, so I stay away from blends heavy in burley, plus I really don't care for it much in the first place except in small amounts in a blend.

 

[reichenbach]

I would also recommend using Biotene.
In addition to that, you should also take a look at the blends that you like smoke. If your mouth seems fried while you're smoking blends with a similar component (say, most of your blends have red VA or high concentrations of perique), then your personal body chemistry might be the culprit here. Some people have a reaction to red VA while I myself end up with burns in my mouth from large doses of perique.

 

[donatello]

I have recently been smoking mostly Virginia based tobaccos and right now I am trying an experiment on smoking a straight burly tobacco to see if it helps?

 

[fadingdaylight]

There are a few things you can try. Switching blends, slowing down your smoke, smoking a little less, mouthwash, drinks, all of these are listed already and all are good ideas. It will take you some playing around and practice to figure out what works best for you. I find smoking alot of aromatics, especially the heavily flavored ones, will trash my tongue pretty bad. Mild english blends, like Nightcap, don't cause me nearly as much trouble. I generally go for coffee or tea with my pipes as well. You can also try a filtered pipe, or a longer pipe. Anything to help cool the smoke or reduce the moisture.

 

[jimmy70]

I usually drink something when i smoke. Coffee or whisky and i have no problems.

 

[donatello]

Thank you very much for all the ideas, I will keep at it

 

[anglesey]

I can offer nothing to this thread but this: don't drink milk while you smoke, just don't. Milk is my favourite drink of all time but unfortunatly it and smoking does not mix.

 

[jimmy70]

I absolutely don't want to try :D But, out of curiosity, what happens if you drink milk while you smoke?

 

[donatello]

I tried drinking milk while smoking last night hoping it would help the dry mouth feeling…it didn't do anything for the dry mouth but it didn't really taste bad?

 

[anglesey]

Nothing happens to the milk, but I just find they don't go together at all. Milk is white and pure (I appreciate how that reads) and smoking is brown and nasty, I just find the two juxtaposing flavours and textures totally unappealing.

 

[Rincewind]

I am experiencing the "sandpaper/dry tongue" today myself. I have only been at this for a year but as others have posted, I too have found it is usually related to smoking too much. I smoked six bowls yesterday and it does seem to be a delayed reaction the following day. The only way I can get by with smoking that much (I know, many of you smoke a lot more than that) is to hold the pipe and keep it moving around not letting it sit on top of my tongue too long. I have to be remember that if I'm clenching, to do it off to the side (and not with the front teeth) so the smoke is more concentrated on the side of my tongue and cheek where there are less taste buds to fatigue. I agree that drinking something (tea in my case) while smoking and Biotene after seem to help.