So I just ordered a pipe kit today. It comes with everything the beginning smoker should have and even a DVD tutorial.
Why start smoking? Well, it’s not like cigarette smoking, which is addictive and unhealthy. It’s just an occasional thing, like the old English guys in their armchairs relaxing after dinner while reading a newspaper. You know, like CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien:
And I guess it’s just cool; maybe it’s just a guy thing like cigars, beer, baseball, cars, etc. We’ll see what Jill thinks about the fragrant scent of pipe smoke in the house 🙂
Thanks for the info Chris 🙂 I tried a cigar once – it was a guys on the porch thing special occasion. But it was kind of gross and cigars have too much nicotine and all that. My pipe and I are becoming friends, but casually… not more than a couple times a month for me.
I have been smoking pipe for about five months now, and enjoy it thoroughly. I will smoke around twice a week, and usually around two bowls each sitting. I have never found myself craving it at all, but every now and then on a splendid evening, its nice to just relax on the porch and enjoy the warming taste in my mouth. I refuse all cigarettes, and occasionally dabble with cigars, but I’d highly recommend it to anyone who would like to enjoy the finer things in life. Keep in mind I don’t inhale… I find the taste of it alone to be perfectly enjoyable, and feel no desire to have the “buzz” one might get if they did inhale. Sure its not good for you, but I have found that neither is drinking soda pop or eating sweets. Everything nowadays is detrimental to our health, so why not sit back and ponder it all, pipe in mouth?
Some things can be ok in moderation. Yes, if I was becoming addicted to nicotine and started smoking every day or something, then I’d have a problem.
As for being drunk, that’s the state of over-doing it, right? But a drink or two enjoyed with friends is not a problem, even though technically alcohol is a toxin and harmful to the body. Abuse of alcohol is a big problem; occasional use is not.
Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with an occasional smoke. In moderation it’s not a bad thing.
BTW, it’s a pipe, not cigars. Cigars can have a LOT more nicotine than cigarettes, and as such are more highly addictive. Pipes are a bit different. Think Sherlock Holmes.
So Ben, you are willing to take the risk of potentially becoming more addicted to cigars that you had originally planned? You are willing to put yourself in the face of that temptation? I had quite a few friends in high school who had the same attitude towards smoking cigarettes. “Oh, I just smoke one or two every couple of weeks.” Sure enough, they became addicted to smoking, even though they had the mentality to ‘control’ the frequency in which they smoked.
Let’s look at it another way-if I only got drunk once or twice a month, would that make it any less wrong or unhealthy for me? No, probably not. Our bodies are our temples and we should care for them. Smoking a cigar is still harmful to your body, no matter how many you smoke. Please think about this logic and understand that you are doing something dangerous to your body and your life. Also consider that second hand smoke is just as bad for others around you (JILL!!)
I’m glad you care about my health 🙂
Much of the reason I’ll be safer is the frequency that I’ll be smoking. Cigarette smokers that get cancer usually don’t smoke one or two cigarettes a month. I’d be willing to bet that driving back and forth to work every day is considerably riskier than smoking one pipe a month. The difference is just what we worry about.
I’m having trouble finding any articles on infrequent smokers, as it seems a “moderate” level is 3 pipes a day!
“Well, it’s not like cigarette smoking, which is addictive and unhealthy.”
I’m not sure what literature you’ve been reading that would suggest pipe smoking is not addictive or unhealthy or any different than cigarette smoking. Just try googling the concept and reading some of the studies from peer-reviewed medical journals (discounting sites trying to sell you a pipe).
From the American Cancer Association website, http://www.cancer.org:
What are the health risks of smoking pipes or cigars?
Many people view cigar smoking as more “civilized” and “sophisticated,” as well as less dangerous than cigarette smoking. Yet a single large cigar can contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes.
Most of the same cancer-causing substances found in cigarettes are found in cigars. And most cigars have as much nicotine as several cigarettes. When cigar smokers inhale, nicotine is absorbed as quickly as it is with cigarettes. For those who do not inhale, it is absorbed more slowly through the lining of the mouth. Both inhaled and non-inhaled nicotine are highly addictive.
Smoking cigars causes cancers of the lung, lip, tongue, mouth, throat (oral cavity), voice box (larynx), swallowing tube (esophagus), and probably cancers of the bladder and pancreas. Cigar smokers have a greater risk of dying from cancer of the mouth, larynx, or esophagus than non-smokers. The risk of death from lung cancer is not as high as it is for cigarette smokers, but is still many times higher than the risk for non-smokers.
Cigar smokers who inhale deeply and smoke several cigars a day are also at increased risk for heart disease and chronic lung disease.
Pipe smokers have an increased risk of dying from cancers of the lung, throat, esophagus, larynx, pancreas, and colon and rectum. They also have an increased risk of dying of heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease. The level of these risks seems to be about the same as that for cigar smokers.
Smoking cigars or pipes is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.
or how about:
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 91, No. 8, 697-701, April 21, 1999
Cigar and Pipe Smoking and Lung Cancer Risk: a Multicenter Study From Europe
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that smoking of European cigars, cigarillos, and pipe tobacco might exert a carcinogenic effect on the lung comparable to that of cigarettes.
I’m sure anyone can find an excuse or a “but what about all the other risky stuff you do?” Sure. That’s a good reason to do it.
But then ask me why I’m so passionate about the topic. Ben, ask your grandmother (my mother) why I’m so passionate about it – why she would be so passionate about it.
I wish I had just a single picture to show you what throat cancer and lung cancer can do to a person you love. I wish you could experience just a single day from the life of someone who has had throat cancer and lung cancer. I wish you could experience just a single day from the life of a family member of someone who has had throat cancer and lung cancer.
Truthfully, I wouldn’t wish any of that on you. I happen to know, first hand, it’s not “just cool”. Baseball is cool. Smoking is painfully, unforgivingly, and permanently stupid. Even if you don’t care enough about yourself, I hope you care enough about Jill.
Love, Dad