How Much is Too Much?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

48 Fresh Brulor Pipes
11 Fresh IMP Meerschaum Pipes
6 Fresh Eltang Basic Pipes
24 Fresh Estate Pipes
23 Fresh Ropp Pipes

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Old_Newby

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 1, 2022
515
1,301
Texas
This is a 2 part inquiry.

1) How many bowls can you smoke in a day that is not considered an addiction or health risk. I know we are all different and smoke is bad but how much are you codgers smoking? I am starting to like 2 bowls in the morning and 1-2 in the evening and I am just a beginner. I think 2 because I have yet gotten a bowl to last more than 20 minutes.

2) Pipes - I heard that you should use a pipe for only a day and then rotate it. I have 2 cobs and a cheap kit pear that works. Should I use a different one for each smoke session?
 
  • Like
Reactions: JOHN72

Old_Newby

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 1, 2022
515
1,301
Texas
To be completely honest, only you know when you become addicted. If you smoke more than 2 times a day you might very well become addicted, but that\s up for you to decide. So if you start to feel like it\s a need instead of a choice, just stop for a while and dial it back
I don’t know. I just started and have never been addicted to anything in my life. But that sweet flavor in my mouth is drawing me to do it more. Is that just flavor like wanting more sweets in diet, or is the nicotine doing it?
 

DanWil84

Lifer
Mar 8, 2021
1,691
12,647
40
The Netherlands (Europe)
There are health risks on smoking anyway, how much it will affect who knows. Everybody knows some one who got 90 smoking like steamboat Willy. just smoke how much you like or you think is good for you, if I even smoke on a I generally smoke 2 bowls a day, 1 bigger and one smaller. I smoke about 8 to 10 bowls a week.

Also a pipe rotation is very subjective. Again, we all know a grandpa smoking some codger blend from a basket pipe or cob and lit the pipe with the smoldering ember from the previous one in the same pipe, he never bought a new one. I like to smoke a pipe dedicated to a blend and I hardly smoke the same blend a second time in that week. If I test smoke a blend, I really like a blend/a new pipe or want to empty the tin, I could smoke it twice a day a few days in a row in the same pipe. I think a cob or a meerschaum is more suitable for smoking multiple times a day than a briar, but if you watch a briar closely in temperature (no local hot spots on the wood) you can get away with smoking it more than once a day.
 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,777
16,477
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Any time you are replacing oxygen with nicotine in your blood is not healthy. There is nothing efficacious about nicotine. Just accept the risk and enjoy. Most of us here have. If you are not a risk taker, find something else to feed your to be social rebel.

As to number two? There are various schools of thought. Try different schedules and see which you prefer. There is no governing body for pipe smoking. Just find out what works for you and learn to enjoy the experience with little muss nor fuss.
 

Ahi Ka

Lurker
Feb 25, 2020
6,615
31,833
Aotearoa (New Zealand)
1) 0…but to be fair, that same addiction/health risks logic could almost be used to abstain from anything in contemporary society.

2) in my experience the more you smoke a cob, the better it smokes. As for briar, unsure of pear, I’ve found that smoking the same pipe all day and then letting rest for a week or two to be a system that works for me. That’s also to do with wanting to smoke all my pipes.

enjoy the whole experiences, and accept that with any new pastime a certain amount of enthusiasm and excitement comes with the early days. While I smoke most days, I found that if I haven’t had a bowl by mid morning I don’t reach for the pipe at all that day, nor do I feel like catching up the following day. If you’re curious about the addiction aspect, just don’t smoke today and see how you feel and what part of the practice you actually miss :)
 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,756
Chicago
This is a 2 part inquiry.

1) How many bowls can you smoke in a day that is not considered an addiction or health risk. I know we are all different and smoke is bad but how much are you codgers smoking? I am starting to like 2 bowls in the morning and 1-2 in the evening and I am just a beginner. I think 2 because I have yet gotten a bowl to last more than 20 minutes.

2) Pipes - I heard that you should use a pipe for only a day and then rotate it. I have 2 cobs and a cheap kit pear that works. Should I use a different one for each smoke session?

The pipe rotation is a myth. Didi proved it Here. As long as you keep your pipe clean, you can smoke it every day. Most of us have multiple pipes because we like pipes or just don't want to clean them every day. As for how much is too much, that's personal. My pipe smoking buddy gets dizzy if he has more than one bowl a day. Embers and Jim on the board here smoke enough bowls in a day that if the nicotine consumed was administered in a shot, it would kill the average rhino.
 

timt

Lifer
Jul 19, 2018
2,844
22,732
Too much for me is when I start noticing negative effects like irritated sinuses, tired ass from sitting too much, family misses me, etc. My limit is around 4-6 hours of smoking per day (2-4 bowls). I'll exceed this from time to time but it's not a battle I'm waging. Addiction is another one of those pipe smoking myths. puffy
 

monty55

Lifer
Apr 16, 2014
1,724
3,563
65
Bryan, Texas
This is a 2 part inquiry.

1) How many bowls can you smoke in a day that is not considered an addiction or health risk. I know we are all different and smoke is bad but how much are you codgers smoking? I am starting to like 2 bowls in the morning and 1-2 in the evening and I am just a beginner. I think 2 because I have yet gotten a bowl to last more than 20 minutes.

2) Pipes - I heard that you should use a pipe for only a day and then rotate it. I have 2 cobs and a cheap kit pear that works. Should I use a different one for each smoke session?
1) I'm pretty sure the fact tobacco has nicotine in it, and nicotine is addictive, then it's going to be addictive.
2) Greg Pease wrote a good article on this... it's basically a function of what type of blends your smoking out of the pipes in question. It's call "Give it a Rest" under Fireside
 

Andriko

Can't Leave
Nov 8, 2021
382
942
London
This is a 2 part inquiry.

1) How many bowls can you smoke in a day that is not considered an addiction or health risk. I know we are all different and smoke is bad but how much are you codgers smoking? I am starting to like 2 bowls in the morning and 1-2 in the evening and I am just a beginner. I think 2 because I have yet gotten a bowl to last more than 20 minutes.

2) Pipes - I heard that you should use a pipe for only a day and then rotate it. I have 2 cobs and a cheap kit pear that works. Should I use a different one for each smoke session?

If you're worried about number one, don't smoke (or drink, or eat...). 'Some people avoid every drinkable, smokable and eatable in the name of health. And Health is all they get for it.'

As for number two - you're putting a toxic substance into a bit of wood and setting fire to it, there is only so precious you can be about it. In my own experience, I have found that the second bowl in a pipe on the same day tends not to quite taste as good, so I tend to give them a day off after each smoke - this is less of an issue if I smoke the same tobacco in it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carol

Nitrane84

Might Stick Around
Jan 10, 2022
58
183
Chatham-Kent
Interestingly when I have time I find myself drawn to smoke as many bowls as possible.

It probably varies from person to person but I find with a pipe I can just drop it and not worry about it for a few weeks.

Hopefully in your case it's not a nic addiction but an addiction to the relaxation and good flavors a good pipe affords
 

Gavrin

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 1, 2021
130
207
Idaho
@hauntedmyst Thanks for the link to the year-long test of the Dr. Grabow pipe vs the 7 pipe rotation. I might never have stumbled upon that thread. I over think almost everything and with all the advice here it makes my wheels spin even faster. It was good to read that year long example of 1 pipe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carol and didimauw

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,880
45,703
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
This is a 2 part inquiry.

1) How many bowls can you smoke in a day that is not considered an addiction or health risk. I know we are all different and smoke is bad but how much are you codgers smoking? I am starting to like 2 bowls in the morning and 1-2 in the evening and I am just a beginner. I think 2 because I have yet gotten a bowl to last more than 20 minutes.

2) Pipes - I heard that you should use a pipe for only a day and then rotate it. I have 2 cobs and a cheap kit pear that works. Should I use a different one for each smoke session?
Answer to #1 - 0 The path to any addiction starts with the first exposure.

Answer to #2 - Many here, myself included, have smoked the same pipe many times a day for many days. As long as you clean and sop up moisture between bowls you should be ok. However, not all pipes can take this treatment.