Few people know the real
details about the differences between cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Most are
just bombarded by anti-smoking messages on a daily basis that lump ALL smoking
into the same bucket. So allow me to provide you with a bit of information
about those differences.
1.
The premium tobacco that is grown for cigars and for pipes is generally
alkaline based. Because of this you don’t inhale pipe smoke or cigar smoke.
2.
Cigarettes are from a varietal of tobacco plant that is more acidic
based — thus you can inhale it into your lungs where you absorb 100x the amount
of nicotine than if you had just from keeping it in your mouth.
3.
If just 10% of cigarette smokers switched from smoking cigarettes to
smoking a pipe or cigar you would double the amount of pipe and cigar smokers
out there.
4.
Pipe and Cigar smokers taste the tobacco, like you would wine or coffee.
5.
While many point to the surgeon generals report from 1964 about how bad
cigarettes are (and I agree, cigarettes are pretty bad, mostly for the
chemicals) — many fail to look at what it says about pipe smokers.
“According to the Committee,
cigar smoke has 4 times as much benz(a)pyrene as cigarette smoke, and pipe
smoke ten times as much as cigarette smoke (p. 58). Yet, the Committee found
pipe and cigar smoke to be pretty much innocent of causing lung cancer, and
even concluded that pipe smokers live longer than
non-smokers.”
6. Because the amount of nicotine is so small for pipe smokers — you don’t see them (pipe smokers) becoming addicted to it or smoking a pipe. They smoke for the same reason someone may enjoy a glass of good wine.
7. But in talking about
nicotine, lets discuss the benefits which again area always left out:
“Modern science tells us that
nicotine is an alkaloid which produces certain physiological effects in humans
and animals. Nicotine is found in tobacco plants,
and to a lesser degree in tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. The
general effects of nicotine are biphasic: initially it is mentally
invigorating, and then it leads to a relaxing effect. In small doses, nicotine
increases alertness, concentration, and enhances mental performance. Today we know that nicotine protects against Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s, and can help treat Tourette’s syndrome, ADHD, schizophrenia,
epilepsy, and possibly rheumatoid arthritis and colorectal cancer. New
discoveries are being made every year about the beneficial effects of nicotine,
but these benefits are usually overshadowed in the public domain bySmokerism and anti-smoke hysteria.
Fortunately, we know that “stress kills”, and the greatest benefit from luxury
tobacco comes from its relaxing effects!”
8. e-Cigarettes and vapes is
just another delivery method for large quantities of nicotine that keeps you
more heavily addicted while it can help you quit cigarettes it does not stop
the delivery of larger quantities of nicotine. Not only that, you’re vaping on
chemicals (some may argue that its no worse than pipes or cigars). Premium
tobacco is natural; or rather has less chemical additives than say cigarettes
or e-Cigarettes. For more information refer to the premium tobacco process at
tobacconist university.
9. Pipe smoking lends itself
to slowing down one’s pace. Thus, if you’re a type-A personality that is one
jelly dough-nut away from a heart-attack caused by stress, picking up a pipe might
allow you to relax, slow down and reflect on what has you so wound up. In turn,
helping you remove one of the main contributors to health problems — stress.
10. We live in an increasingly
fast-paced society, so much so that we sometimes don’t stop and smell the
flowers. There is ritual in pipe smoking that helps ground us, and slow us down
to reflect on the day and the amount of change that has happened. Pipe smoking
also helps us socialize with our friends and with strangers in ways that
facebook and social media just can’t do.