Pipe smoking is the practice of tasting (or, less commonly, inhaling) the smoke produced by burning a substance, most commonly
tobacco or
cannabis, in a
pipe. It is the oldest traditional form of
smoking.
Regular pipe smoking is known to carry serious health risks including increased danger of various forms of
cancer as well as pulmonary and cardiovascular illnesses.
History
A number of
Native American cultures have pipe-smoking traditions, which have been part of their cultures since long before the arrival of
Europeans.
Tobacco is often smoked, generally for ceremonial purposes, though other mixtures of sacred herbs are also common. Various types of
ceremonial pipes have been smoked in
ceremony to seal
covenants and
treaties, most notably treaties of peace (hence the misnomer, "
peace pipe"). Tobacco was introduced to
Europe from the
Americas in the sixteenth century and spread around the world rapidly.[1]
In Asia during the nineteenth century,
opium (which previously had only been eaten) was added to tobacco and smoked in pipes.
Madak (the mixture of opium and tobacco) turned out to be far more
addictive than orally-ingested opium, leading to social problems in
China which culminated in the
First (1839–1842) and
Second Opium War (1856–1860).[1]
According to
Alfred Dunhill, Africans have had a long tradition of smoking
hemp in gourd pipes, asserting that by 1884 the King of the Baluka tribe of the Congo had established a "riamba" or hemp-smoking cult in place of fetish-worship. Enormous gourd pipes were used.[2]
In the twentieth century, pipe smoking was adopted as a preferred method of inhaling a variety of
psychoactive drugs, and some claim it is a more intense method of ingestion. Smokeable
crack cocaine has a reputation for being more addictive than cocaine's
insufflated form. Similarly,
methamphetamine has gained popularity in a
crystalline form which when smoked in a pipe lets the user avoid the painful nasal irritation of snorting. When not applied to a
cigarette or
joint, the liquid form of
PCP is typically smoked in a pipe with tobacco or
cannabis.[3]
Due in no small part to successful campaigning against tobacco use, sales of pipe tobacco in Canada fell nearly 80% in a recent fifteen-year period to 27,319 kilograms in 2016, from 135,010 kilograms in 2001, according to federal data.[4] By comparison, Canadian cigarette sales fell about 32% in the same period to 28,600,000,000 units.[5]
The size of a pipe, particularly the bowl, depends largely on what is intended to be smoked in it. Large western-style
tobacco pipes are used for strong-tasting, harsh tobaccos, the smoke from which is usually not inhaled. Smaller pipes such as the
midwakh or
kiseru are used to inhale milder tobaccos such as dokha and kizami or other substances such as cannabis and opium.
Water pipes
Water pipes bubble smoke through water to cool and wash the smoke. The two basic types are stationary
hookahs, with one or more long flexible drawtubes, and portable
bongs.
Spoon pipes
Spoon pipes (glass pipes or glass bowl pipes) have become increasingly common with the rise of
cannabis or other narcotics smoking. Spoon pipes are normally made of
borosilicate glass to withstand repeated exposure to high temperatures. They consist of a bowl for packing material into, stem for inhaling, and a carbureter (carb) for controlling suction and airflow into the pipe. These pipes utilize a two step process. First, the user inhales while lighting the smoking material and holding down the carb, allowing smoke to fill the stem. Then, the user releases the carb while inhaling to allow air to enter the stem and smoke to be pulled into the user's mouth.
The overall health risks are 10% higher in pipe smokers than in non-smokers.[6] However, pipe or cigar smokers who are former-cigarette smokers might retain a habit of smoke inhalation.[6] In such cases, there is a 30% increase in the risk of
heart disease and a nearly three times greater risk of developing
COPD.[6] In addition, there is a causal relationship between pipe smoking and mortality due to
lung and other
cancers, as well as periodontal problems, such as
tooth and
bone loss.[6]
However, all tobacco products deliver
nicotine to the
central nervous system, and there is a confirmed risk of dependence. Many forms of tobacco use are associated with a significantly increased risk of morbidity and premature mortality due to tobacco-related diseases.[6]
The customs, vocabulary and etiquette that surround pipe
smoking culture vary across the world and depend both on the people who are smoking and the substance being smoked.
For example, in many places in Europe and North America, tobacco pipe smoking has sometimes been seen as genteel or dignified and has given rise to a variety of customized accessories and even apparel such as the
smoking jacket, and the former
Pipe Smoker of the Year award in the UK, as well as the term kapnismology ("the study of smoke").[7]
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American blues musician. An avid pipe smoker, the Texas-blues guitarist often sold his own proprietary blend of pipe tobacco as well as autographed pipes at his concerts and shows.[11]
Allen Welsh Dulles, American diplomat and lawyer who became the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and its longest-serving director to date.
Edward VIII, short-reigned (20 January-11 December 1936) King of the United Kingdom.[12]
Albert Einstein (1879–1955), German scientist. He was known for smoking a pipe and once said, "I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs."
Joseph Stalin (1878–1953), Premier of the USSR. He was frequently shown with a pipe: "Photos of him appeared daily in the Soviet press, now in genial pipe-smoking profile, now walking with his comrades..."[18]
Jacques Tati, French actor, comedian and film director.
Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav president-for-life. Commonly shown smoking cigarettes from a pipe.
Mark Twain (1835–1910), American author, a.k.a. Samuel Clemens, writer of Huckleberry Finn favored Missouri Meershaum corncob pipes. He was notoriously partial to a special blend of "Cuban leaf" pipe tobacco, remarking once that "If I cannot smoke in heaven, then I shall not go."[19]
Frosty the Snowman, A fictional Christmas character, featured in both songs and cartoon films of the same name, that is always depicted and described as "With a corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal". Such depictions likely suggests that Frosty was a pipe smoker, or at least an aesthetic pipe proprietor.
Snufkin, Finnish literary and comics character from The Moomins, though his pipe is absent in some incarnations.