Cigarettes Affecting Pipe Taste

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warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,797
16,549
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
I'm guessing alot depends on the quality of the cigarette. Luxury cigarettes have a grand tobacco taste and do not effect one way or the other a pipe blend. I taste a difference between blends, cigars and cigarettes ... even a good chaw but, quality tobacco is quality tobacco, different tastes may please or not, different palates but, each has it's place. This is not to disparage all inexpensive tobaccos by any means. It's all in one's palate and everyone's is different. Each of us can only speak to our own experiences.
 
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Meerly John

Can't Leave
Aug 4, 2021
491
8,272
Mid-USA
That is reassuring! I am hoping to do the same. At least it's a transition to being smoke free, but I could deal with just being a pipe smoker.

The "occasional" cigarette just doesn't work for me... I either smoke cigs all day or not at all. When this last pound of cigarette tobacco runs out, I'm going to put some BCA in the remaining tubes for if I'm out about (no inhaling) and "make the switch". I've been prepping for this by amassing several pipes and a decent amount of different tobaccos so there's no excuse. Hopefully it's not "too late" for me, 2 of my uncles died from cigarettes and I'm built a lot like they were...
I'm excited for you to see the change in your body, because I think it's an excellent insight into exactly how much worse for you commercial cigarettes are than they need to be. The bulk of the motivation for these chemical alterations is to create a compulsive, crack addict-like habit in the user. Chemically speaking, when one smoke commercial cigarettes, one is free-basing nicotine off of 'reconstituted tobacco.'

I switched seamlessly from cigs to Juul for 1 year, then just over a year ago, switched to pipes. I had nicotine withdrawals for about 3 days (headaches, irritability) because of the difference in nicotine. I was only smoking Captain Black Gold at that time.

Over a year later, my nicotine tolerance continues to go down. 6 months ago, pure VAs were not satisfying to me. Now Haunted Bookshop makes the room spin if I smoke it on an empty stomach. I never cough. I rarely smell like shit because many tobacco blends don't smell all that bad, as well as the absence of the paper. People meet me and just don't know I smoke, when I actually smoke enclosed in my car, as well as in my apartment where all my clothes are hanging lol.

After the intitial investment in pipes, it's quite a bit cheaper. Like, almost definitely under $2 a day unless you're smoking a pound of some HH Flake every month. I'm weirdly not addicted as well. I have gained this mystical power I've heard tales of to just stop smoking all of a sudden, and then take it back up. I forget to smoke my pipe sometimes. I never forgot to take a cigarette break, not ever.

I wish I'd done this sooner. I look at the last 15 years as unnecessary damage to my body and wasted money, all while not even truly enjoying tobacco. I think you're going to be really happy you did this in the end.
 

Osirus

Might Stick Around
May 13, 2022
59
144
Nebraska, USA
I'm excited for you to see the change in your body, because I think it's an excellent insight into exactly how much worse for you commercial cigarettes are than they need to be. The bulk of the motivation for these chemical alterations is to create a compulsive, crack addict-like habit in the user. Chemically speaking, when one smoke commercial cigarettes, one is free-basing nicotine off of 'reconstituted tobacco.'

I switched seamlessly from cigs to Juul for 1 year, then just over a year ago, switched to pipes. I had nicotine withdrawals for about 3 days (headaches, irritability) because of the difference in nicotine. I was only smoking Captain Black Gold at that time.

Over a year later, my nicotine tolerance continues to go down. 6 months ago, pure VAs were not satisfying to me. Now Haunted Bookshop makes the room spin if I smoke it on an empty stomach. I never cough. I rarely smell like shit because many tobacco blends don't smell all that bad, as well as the absence of the paper. People meet me and just don't know I smoke, when I actually smoke enclosed in my car, as well as in my apartment where all my clothes are hanging lol.

After the intitial investment in pipes, it's quite a bit cheaper. Like, almost definitely under $2 a day unless you're smoking a pound of some HH Flake every month. I'm weirdly not addicted as well. I have gained this mystical power I've heard tales of to just stop smoking all of a sudden, and then take it back up. I forget to smoke my pipe sometimes. I never forgot to take a cigarette break, not ever.

I wish I'd done this sooner. I look at the last 15 years as unnecessary damage to my body and wasted money, all while not even truly enjoying tobacco. I think you're going to be really happy you did this in the end.
Great insight! Even the RYO ones don't really taste "good". Smelling like cigs of one of the reasons I want to stop. I wasn't able to smoke for a week last year, and when I smelled some on my jacket it wasn't pleasant. Smokers really can't smell it on themselves. Pipe tobacco, as you mentioned, actually smells good.

And I certainly wouldn't mind a bit of a "buzz" from some stronger blends! In fact, it would be a nice benefit since I don't drink anymore and really shouldn't for quite a while. It would be nice to look forward to a pipe at the end of the day, or a special blend for a holiday, event, etc. as opposed to rushing outside for a fix.
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,317
I'm excited for you to see the change in your body, because I think it's an excellent insight into exactly how much worse for you commercial cigarettes are than they need to be. The bulk of the motivation for these chemical alterations is to create a compulsive, crack addict-like habit in the user. Chemically speaking, when one smoke commercial cigarettes, one is free-basing nicotine off of 'reconstituted tobacco.'

I switched seamlessly from cigs to Juul for 1 year, then just over a year ago, switched to pipes. I had nicotine withdrawals for about 3 days (headaches, irritability) because of the difference in nicotine. I was only smoking Captain Black Gold at that time.

Over a year later, my nicotine tolerance continues to go down. 6 months ago, pure VAs were not satisfying to me. Now Haunted Bookshop makes the room spin if I smoke it on an empty stomach. I never cough. I rarely smell like shit because many tobacco blends don't smell all that bad, as well as the absence of the paper. People meet me and just don't know I smoke, when I actually smoke enclosed in my car, as well as in my apartment where all my clothes are hanging lol.

After the intitial investment in pipes, it's quite a bit cheaper. Like, almost definitely under $2 a day unless you're smoking a pound of some HH Flake every month. I'm weirdly not addicted as well. I have gained this mystical power I've heard tales of to just stop smoking all of a sudden, and then take it back up. I forget to smoke my pipe sometimes. I never forgot to take a cigarette break, not ever.

I wish I'd done this sooner. I look at the last 15 years as unnecessary damage to my body and wasted money, all while not even truly enjoying tobacco. I think you're going to be really happy you did this in the end.
Yes! "compulsive crack addict like habit" due to the added chemicals is exactly how it felt, especially the last several years of my 35 year addiction.

Re; stale cigarette odour.
Every morning I awoke I would smell the stale cigarette smoke.
Same with my car.

Now in the mornings I smell hardly anything if at all and the little that I do occasionally smell is not unpleasant.
Not that I smoke often in my car but it also has no stale smoke odour.
[Used car dealers tell me it's impossible to remove the stale cigarette smell from a car]

It's hard not to regret not switching to a pipe sooner but the way I see it is that I'm exceedingly grateful that I did eventually make the switch.
When I look at my neighbour [who I have shared the huge benefits of switching to a pipe and even offered him a pipe to get started] sitting outside in all weather smoking a ciggie, I think 'that could still be me'.
 
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aspiring_sage

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 7, 2021
556
1,945
West of the Twin Cities, MN
The pipe hasn't been fulfilling my nic addicition like I hoped... ordered a few "strong" blends as I'd rather drop the cigs.

I switched to RYO a few months back. had a few spare packs of "store bought" cigs that I used when I was out of RYO, definitely had more chemical taste, didn't buy any since. RYO is definitely the way to go if you can find the time every week or so to roll up enough.

Cigs in general are known to "blunt" your tastebuds, supposedly one of the benefits of quitting is increased food flavor (and pipe flavor I would assume as well).
It may be that I'm a lightweight, but I can significantly increase the buzz with a couple of long slow retrohales.

I might get more out of 4-5 slow retrohales than a 45 minutes with just the breath-method.
Unscientifically, I assume it is more "effecient" because I'm giving the nose time to absorb more.

*First filling mouth with smoke with long slow drags via breath method 2-3 breaths worth of time).
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,932
29,859
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
The pipe hasn't been fulfilling my nic addicition like I hoped... ordered a few "strong" blends as I'd rather drop the cigs.

I switched to RYO a few months back. had a few spare packs of "store bought" cigs that I used when I was out of RYO, definitely had more chemical taste, didn't buy any since. RYO is definitely the way to go if you can find the time every week or so to roll up enough.

Cigs in general are known to "blunt" your tastebuds, supposedly one of the benefits of quitting is increased food flavor (and pipe flavor I would assume as well).
cigs certainly do blunt the sense of taste. I think personally that it has as much to do with messing with the sense of smell as with the taste buds. Especially how the sense of smell came back after kicking cigs, which means that now when a cig smoker walks into a room I go oh god I smelled like that!!!