Thoughts on Pipes

Why do I smoke a pipe?

I don't pretend that it makes me any more distinguished or intelligent than anyone else out there. However, I find it enjoyable. It's relaxing. It seems to lend to introspection. If I have a problem, I can smoke a pipe and work my way through it. Sometimes that's all it takes.

I also enjoy the smell of the unlit tobacco, as well as the flavor of the smoke it produces when I'm smoking. Sometimes I buy new blends just to see what they smell and taste like. I'm very much a proponent of aromatic blends, though I recently tried a mild English blend that I enjoyed (despite the fact that the unlit tobacco smells a bit strange due to the Latakia content).

Plus, I love blowing smoke rings. That's sort of silly, but it's fun!

There are definite risks to smoking a pipe, true. I've been reminded on a couple of occasions that smoking is bad for my health. Trust me, as a recovering hypochondriac, I know what the risks are in excruciating detail. What it comes down to -- in my mind anyway -- is moderation.

When I smoked cigarettes in my teenage years, I smoked at least a pack a day. I inhaled every puff deeply, and on gaming nights I'd increase my nicotine intake to nearly double the normal amount. Every time the seasons would change, I'd catch a bout of bronchitis that would last several weeks. Even when I wasn't sick, there was an omnipresent smoker's cough. In retrospect, it was pretty gross.

With pipe smoking, I've been much more moderate. I smoke maybe once or twice a day. Some days, I don't smoke at all. I took a couple days off over this holiday vacation just to prove I could.

I don't see pipe tobacco as filling the coffers of cigarette manufacturers, either, and it's a lot "cleaner" than the chemically-treated stuff they fill cigarettes with. I'd like to think that makes it less hazardous and less addictive than a pack of Marlboros or Camels.

Outside of the actual tobacco use, I like the pipes. They're works of art that I enjoy looking at and holding on to, even when they aren't lit. I don't see myself going broke to buy new and expensive pipes anytime soon, but maybe when I'm older I'll entertain that option.

I was asked once, "Why do you need more than one pipe?" On the surface, this is a legitimate question since they all serve much the same purpose. I suppose the honest answer is that I don't need more than one. But look at it this way:

I buy video games. They aren't cheap, generally speaking. A new title for the Xbox might cost as much as $50 or $60 (if I don't get it at a discount from work), and I might play it for a number of hours before finishing it or moving on to the next game. I may very well go back and play it again later, but that depends largely on its replay value. Some games, as excellent as they are, are pretty limited when it comes to replay.

Similarly, a pipe might cost me between $30 and $100 (though I'm still a bit stingy when it comes to laying out a big roll on a single pipe, and my upper limit is always determined by the bottom line). However, every pipe I get has unlimited "replay value," as well as a certain amount of collectability.

Maybe that's a series of weak arguments. Maybe it isn't. After all, an addict will do just about anything to justify his addiction, right?