To Inhale or not to Inhale... That is the Question

SERENTIL

Please let me know your thoughts regarding inhaling during smoking your pipe.  I was advised early on that, like cigars, you do not inhale while you are smoking your pipe. Only puff the smoke into your mouth. 

PappyJoe

In my opinion it depends on whether you want an enjoyable smoke or  coughing fit followed by puking your guts out.

Inhaling is bad.

Puffing is good.

motie2

Inhaling any smoke resulting from combustion of tobacco is inherently not good for you. Yet millions do it. 

Only "puffing smoke" into your oral cavity is inherently not good for you. Yet... uh.... a lot of folks do it.

It's all a matter of degree and risk assessment. Generally, though, lungs and smoke do not get along, in the long run. 

<<The road to true pipe smoking pleasure is neither long nor hard. A good pipe properly filled with carefully selected tobaccos, and smoked with care and skill, will reward its owner with unmatched taste and aroma. The pipe smoker never seeks stimulation through inhaling. >>  ~ Carl Weber, Art of Pipe Smoking

And in any event, <<..... you don’t get as much of the nicotine absorption through the glands in your mouth as you do from inhaling the smoke.>> ~ Interview With Master Blender Russ Ouellette

ghostsofpompeii

I guess that all depends on your outlook on life in general. If life and your present situation is good, and you look forward to living to a ripe old age I suggest simply puffing your pipe and the occasional retro-hale to get all the nuanced flavor from the tobacco. But if you're feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, hate the thought of waking up each morning, have suicidal tendencies, and would be more than happy to prematurely hasten your impending death, then I guess inhaling a lungful of tobacco smoke for forty-five minutes several times a day can do the trick. It may be a long and painful process to finally reach your ultimate goal, and in the process leave your family destitute with a mountain of medical bills - but eventually it should do the trick. But I'd recommend a closed casket ceremony. You'll look like a cadaver weeks before you're in the coffin. I've had a lot of experience with cancer in my family - and it aint pretty. So I agree with PappyJoe. When I accidentally inhale I cough my guts up. Cigar and pipe tobacco smoke is extremely harsh. Cigarette smoke is bad and we all know it (the added chemicals play a bigger part than the tobacco in cigars and pipe tobacco) ... but the addition of sticky sweet casing that are added to flavored aromatics may be just as hazardous when inhaling. Consider the sticky residue on your fingers when packing your pipe with aromatics like Molto Dolce and Officer's Club. I hate to think what they might do to those little sacs in our lungs. Don't want to gum up the works. If you're new to the hobby and want some sound advise ... don't begin by making inhaling part of your pipe smoking experience.    

motie2

One could describe such tobacco as .... oh, I dunno.... gooberlicious aromatics?     <giggle>

jfreedy

Don't inhale. Not worth the long term risk. It's like over salting your food or eating junkie snacks. Probably won't kill you every now and then but why would you want to develop a taste for it? Gently puffing an excellent blend is so rich in and of itself I've never seen the need. Inhaling (like cigarette smoking) is basically time release suicide.

Londy3

puff, puff, puff, puff....did i say puff? 
But a slow meaningful puff to boot

pipeman83

Puffing only,no inhaling.

jim102864

Any time I inhale it's purely by accident and typically leads to a coughing fit and asking myself "wtf was that all about?"  Never inhale, be it pipes or cigars.

TheBigBurleyMan

There is no need to inhale. Ever. Pipe smoking is not a quick fix for ones satisfying a habit. It's to enjoy the taste of the tobacco for a substantial amount of time giving the pleasure of contemplation with smaller doses of nicotine entering the system to help aid relaxation, but not induce a dependency.
You can occasionally retro-hale to get a fuller hit of flavor from the tobacco from time to time. You can do this by simply just swallowing the smoke as if you would a liquid and then blow out through your nose.

tim12string

I occasionally inhale. It actually relaxes me.

xDutchx

There is actually no need to inhale. I think most pipe smokers would be surprised at how much of their pipe tobacco residue is being swallowed. Just ask any pipe smoker with acid reflx disease, and they will most likely tell you that when they smoke high nicotine blends, they can actually feel the juice hitting their stomach.

Basically, the smoke residues mix with your saliva, and the pipe smoker ingests their nicotine instead of inhaling it.

motie2

Interestingly (?), I've found that when I use a Softy (Softee? rubber) stem bit cover, I slobber a bit. Don't know why. Also don't want to be swallowing the excess, or constantly wiping my mouth.

So, I stopped using them, even though they are comfortable and provide a measure of stem protection. 

Woodsman

If you're concerned about nicotine ingestion in your saliva you can swish your mouth out with water and spit it out.( Not suggested in public.)

dbh1950

Never thought of directly inhaling pipe smoke, particuarly the English blends with heavy Latakia, such as my most recent samples of Lane BS005, Aragon Balkan Supreme, Dunhill 965, etc.

I suppose if direct inhalation is the idea, by a JOB roller, some papers, roll your own with pipe tobacco.

My father in law, age 95, has been a pipe smoker and a cigar smoker. Inhaling both. He now smokes some nasty little cigarillos having given up his Prince Albert. 

I will stick with my 40 plus years of puffing.

xDutchx

@Woodsman, In this case, luckily my body has acclimated itself, and the nicotine ingestion doesn't bother me. Usually this type thing doesn't work in my favor, since most meds I take lose their effectiveness because of acclimation.

motie2

My father smoked four freakin' packs of Camels (unfiltered) every day, plus an occasional cigar, but it was spending a total of 12 days over 9 years in the Ohio River Valley that cost him a lung. He caught "Johnny Bench Disease," a fungal infection one can only get in the Ohio River Valley and the Rhine River Valley in Germany.

Go figure.

Anthony

I'm with the majority of you slow  puffing, no inhaling. I also had someone make the point, of why would you need to inhale all the taste bud's are in your mouth.

Deadpool57

I'm a non-inhaler but it makes sense if some of yall do.  Non-judgement here.

SERENTIL

For the record, I occasionally inhale accidently and pay the price.  I take it slow, savoring the moment.  Its never been my intention to inhale but I met a guy not too long ago who seemed to enjoy the full inhalation of his pipe.  I found that quite odd...and unhealthy. 

Woodsman

I don't inhale,

xDutchx

@Woodsman, Neither did Slick Willie!

motie2

I'm with Mrs. Reagan: "Just say no."

Charles

Same as with cigars, one does not need to inhale in order to enjoy the simple pleasure of smoking a pipe. 

Greybeard

I couldn't inhale if I wanted to, my lungs are quite sensitive.

glohman

Buy cigarettes if you want to inhale, the tobacco is flue cured to lock in the highest amount of nicotine. Pipes and cigars are fermented, which improves flavor but reduces nicotine. Compared to smoking a cigarette, inhaling a pipe will get your more tar and less nicotine.

Pubstout

Being a former cig smoker it actually took me a long time to NOT inhale. Don't anymore and the tobacco tastes a thousand times better.

Woodsman

@XDutchX, Oh, THAT Pipe. You do realize that I came through the 60's and 70's, I even sort of remember some of them.

xDutchx

@Woodsman, After everything played out, there was a pipe as well as a cigar involved. The cigar, with the flavored cap, may very well have been the inspiration for Jonathan Drew's Acid line, however I have no way to verify this.

PappyJoe

@xDutchX - but the question is "Did Monica inhale." 

Woodsman

Not gonna go there, I plead the 5th.