Herbal Tobacco Substitites ... You Must Be Kidding!

ghostsofpompeii

You can find anything on the internet ... including Herbal tobacco substitutes.

I'm not talking about illegal or medical marijuana ... but products intended to be used as a nicotine free substitute for actual pipe tobacco. And apparently there appears to be quite a market for the stuff. With sites dedicated to both providing instructions on making your own blends as well as a variety of establishments which sell a bevy of blends. Don't believe me go to www.https://theherbalacademy.com/herbal-smoking-blends/ and you'll find quite a few there. 

Now I imagine were I to ask anyone here if they've ever considered an alternative herbal pipe tobacco as a replacement for their favorite English blend, I could expect the same reaction one might get from the proprietor of a Texas Steakhouse Barbeque when a busload of Vegans come through the door asking to see the Vegetarian menu. 

I don't even like herbal tea. Can't imagine what herbal tobacco would taste like. Well maybe I can ... it would taste like smoking herbal tea.

Now for the most part we all know what's in pipe tobacco ... mainly tobacco. It could be any combination of Virginia, Latakia, Perique, Burley, Turkish or Oriental ... but it's all tobacco none the less. Aromatic blends will have some sweet casings and other food grade flavor additives - but for the most part it's all straight tobacco. Now let's examine the so called 'all natural' ingredients in just three different blends I've picked out.

Lucid Blend: a secret blend of herbs, oils, and resins, including Mugwort, Catmint, Woodruff, Betony, Blue Lotus, Blue Lily, Calamus, Saffron, Neel Leaves, Brahmi, Indian Sarsapilla, with aromatics of Frankincense, Myrrh, Catnip, Passion Flower, and Licorice. Also blended with a dash of aromatics of Sage, Clove, Cinnamon, Wormwood, and Blue Lotus.

Druid Moon Smoking Blend: Mugwort (the dominant herb by a large measure), with dashes of Celadine, Betony, Catnip, Woodriff, Wormwood, Damiana, Skullcap, Sweet cicely, Wild Dagga, Pygeum, Buchhu, Wild Lettuce, Valarian, Spikenard, Blue and White lotus petals, pre-soaked in a special blend of herbal extracts and precious oils.

Benton's Blue Smoking Blend: pure shade dried herbs and herb oils of Blue and White Lotus petals, Jasmine flowers, Cedar, Myrrh, Acacia, Artemesia, Skullcap, Chamomile, Davana, Mullein, Calamus, Catnip, Alpine Lavender, Passion Flower, Wormwood, and a proprietary incense blend from a South Indian temple priest.

I don't know about all you other folks, but there's stuff listed there that makes my skin crawl ... what the Hell is Mugwort (sounds like something from a Harry Potter book). Wormwood (isn't that the stuff they put in Absinth that makes you hallucinate). Catnip (it's Catnip for Christsakes! - enough said ... it's the stuff that makes your cat run around and act like a drunken jackass). I don't even want to know what Skullcap is - but I have an over-active imagination. Oh yea, and my favorite is the final ingredient in Benton's Blue Smoking Blend ... "a proprietary incense blend from a South Indian temple priest". That's comforting. It's bad enough all those other magic potions are simmering in the bowl of my pipe - but I also have to wonder what's in that secret blend of incense conjured up by a temple priest who may have been the same guy trying to pull the heart out of Indiana Jones in that "Temple Of Doom" movie. 

Leave me to my little tobacco vices. I'm sure in the long run it's probably safer than those herbal blend substitutes. And I'm positive I can pass a drug test after smoking a bowl of Captain Black Gold, whereas I'm not so sure about that Druid Moon, Lucid, or Benton's Blue..   

 

ghostsofpompeii

Don't bother clicking on the link for some reason it's not working. But I assure you a quick search for herbal tobacco substitutes on the internet will give you more than enough information.

Hiker007

I wonder who the target customers are.

Woodsman

The only non-tobacco I use is Deer Tongue which I don't smoke by itself, it adds a slight grassy flavor and a new mowed hay scent.

Philip

So I should be steeping my tobacco and smoking my tea??

Morons.

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii et. al. -- Try https://theherbalacademy.com/herbal-smoking-blends/

The broken link had www. in front of it, the result of the awkward system. Just type a url into your message, and avoid the link button, above. 

ghostsofpompeii

Thanks @motie2 I've been having a real problem trying to attach links to my messages.

Aristocob

I tried a couple tobacco-free smoking blends a few years back and to say they were hideous is an understatement.  If this link works the offence occurs around the 3:50 point. https://youtu.be/6bCYQHYZDvI  Scott

ghostsofpompeii

@Aristocob Your facial expression when you took a puff says it all. I had no intention of buying any of this stuff ... but then that evil little voice in the back of my head that usually talks me into doing bad or stupid things (like skinning a hitchhiker - just kidding please don't call the police and ask them to dig around in my crawlspace) started egging me on. Well that little voice almost convinced me to give one a try just so I could write a review here at The Pipeline - but after watching your video ... that was reason enough to keep my wallet in my back pocket and learn from your mistake. Thanks for taking one for the team.

By the way - I really enjoy your videos.  

Aristocob

I'd say I was happy to do it but that would be a lie, @ghostsofpompeii. I really had high hopes since I learned that it was the stuff they had been smomking on Mad Men. No wonder they were mad.

xDutchx

I pretty much had the same reaction to the vaping craze, as well as hookah smoking. Some things just aren't meant to happen at my place.

motie2

I had a friend that smoked clove cigarettes back in the day, both the string-tied bidis and ones that looked like unfiltered camels. He seemed to enjoy them and inhaled the smoke, which had a more pleasant room note than cigarette smoke. I tried one once, but in that I don't inhale -- and preferred at the time smoking Balkan Sobranie -- I didn't see the point.