Thanks everyone... looks like I also caught a cold from OAOA girlfriend.... It's good I start a new job on Monday... Plenty of time to get it out of my system!
Stopped smoking
by Cagefighter 16 Replies latest jw friends
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PrimateDave
That's great! I hate cigarettes. Now, the following may sound strange in light of what I just said, but bear with me...
You could take up smoking pipe tobacco. It is less expensive than cigarettes (I think). Imo, it smells a lot nicer than cigarettes. There is a wide variety of fine pipe tobaccos to choose from.
Start out with a $5 corn cob pipe and a pouch of Captain Black from your local Walgreens. (Avoid cheap otc like Borkum Riff and those big plastic bags. They'll put you off pipes before you even try the good stuff.) If you decide you like it, there are lots of cool pipes to collect and plenty of online tobacco suppliers that are better quality and value by far than your local drug stores. Check out http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/
You can get a nicotine rush from pipe tobacco, but in my own experience, there is no nicotine craving between smokes. I can put my pipe down for days and weeks at a time.
But isn't all tobacco and nicotine bad? Granted there are still health risks associated with pipe tobacco. I tend to think that personal hygiene plays a factor. Don't inhale the smoke! Brush your teeth and rinse out your mouth after smoking, just like you would after eating and drinking.
In one forum a pipe smoker compared cigarettes to pipes: Cigarettes are drug delivery devices, whereas pipes are a smoking experience. With alcohol there are ways to get drunk fast and cheap, and there are fine wines and micro brew beers that can be enjoyed for the pleasure they give to our senses and the buzz that comes from the alcohol. If all you ever drank was moonshine to get drunk, you might assume that fine wine and specialty beers and liquors were just expensive ways to get drunk. So, if you go into pipe smoking with a cigarette mentality, you're missing the point. (Except for the fact that cigarettes are an expensive way to get a constant supply of nicotine, kind of like walking around with an alcohol IV drip.)
Finally, there are a number of pipe smoking videos on You Tube that review tobaccos and explain some of the technical aspects of the hobby if you're interested.
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Mad Sweeney
PrimitiveDave, I'm sold. What kind of feeling does nicotene give anyway? And how do you get it without inhaling? Does it absorb kind of like sublingual medicines do?
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Darth plaugeis
I smoke cigars and can go days and more than a week or several weeks when money is tight. No jonesing at all. I've seen friends go 2 hours without a cig and they are animals! I thought of pipes, but I know I'd load it with weed insted haha
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PrimateDave
Mad Sweeny, nicotine gives a kind of calming, soothing feeling, at least to me. It doesn't last long. The nicotine is absorbed in the mouth, so it doesn't hit hard and fast. Fact is, I would continue to smoke pipes even if there was no nicotine. Some pipe tobacco varieties like Prince Albert (in a can? That's an old joke) are very mild. You might not even feel it. Whereas, one variety I tried, Peterson's Irish Flake, hit pretty hard. It's like the difference between decaf and a triple espresso. I strongly caution beginners to avoid the strong blends, which are usually called English varieties, until they learn proper technique. At the very least eat a good solid meal beforehand. I'm not sure why that helps, but it does. Beyond that, it is not like the buzz from alcohol or the high from marijuana. Frankly, I hate being drunk, and after being really, really stoned on pot, I decided that wasn't for me either. Not that I wouldn't try it again, but considering the legal implications it just isn't worth it.
I realize that for some it may be an acquired taste. For best enjoyment of a pipe, get a quality aromatic blend to start with. A local tobacconist who specializes in cigars and pipes should be able to recommend one. He should be able to set you up with a pipe, tamper tool, and a few ounces of tobacco for a minimal investment. Good tobacco can cost as little as $2.50 an ounce on line. If no tobacconist is close to you, do some online research for pipe tobacco reviews. Some online suppliers like Boswell Pipes and Tobacco in Pennsylvania are very pleasant to deal with.
How I enjoy a good pipe: After a good meal, pack a pipe. Pour a cup of nice coffee or a mild alcoholic beverage. Sit out on the back porch and relax as the sun sets. You may even get compliments on the aroma.
It is sad that the Witnesses condemn all forms of tobacco use out of hand, calling them a defilement of the flesh. Smoking pipe tobacco in moderation is nothing of the sort, imo. It is legal. When done with proper consideration of others, it can be a pleasant, relaxing hobby.
Darth, loading weed into a good briar is a virtual crime against humanity!
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poppers
Well, PrimateDave, you've sold me on the idea of smoking a pipe if I were to choose to smoke. But, that will never happen, even though pipe tobacco has always been a pleasant aroma to me, even as a child. You are still risking your health, oral cancer comes to mind, and spending money needlessly. And I don't understand how any lifetime nonsmoker would take up the practice now.
Just out of curiosity, though, how many smokes can you get out of one ounce of pipe tobacco? I know you said you can put your pipe down for days and even weeks, but how often to do smoke? And doesn't it interfere with the taste of food?
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PrimateDave
Poppers, let me just say that I couldn't imagine spending $300 in a YEAR of pipe smoking, much less in a month like some of the cigarette smokers above, even if I smoked twice a day, which I normally don't. I went several months this year without a smoke. Didn't miss it. Then I bought a pouch of Captain Black (1.5 oz) and another of Prince Albert (also 1.5 ounce), and mixed them together in a jar. That was well over a month ago and I'm still working on them, smoking two or three times a week. I haven't noticed any difference in the taste of food.
I am pretty health conscious. Like a lot of things though, I think that the danger is in excess. That goes for the wrong kinds of food and drink as well. That said, I wouldn't take up cigarettes if you gave them to me for free.
