Pipe tobacco different than cigarette tobacco?

Factual Questions
1

Why is it that the second hand smoke of pipes usually smell very sweet and ‘smooth’, while second-hand smoke from cigarettes is not pleasant at all? That’s my opinon obviously but I think most people would agree there is a difference. So my question is, why is there such a difference in the different types of smoke from different means of smoking tobacco? Do pipe users use a different type of tobacco, or is it processed differently than cigarette or a cigar?

Also, we’ve all heard about all the bad chemicals that are in cigarettes (ammonia, cyanide, etc). Are these chemicals in the tobacco naturally or are they added by the cigarette makers? If so, why would they add these things? I’m thinking this might contribute to the difference between the smell of cigar/cigarette/pipe smoke.

2

Yes, pipe tobacco is a different type of tobacco. It’s less processed, cut differently, different types. Some has flavorings added (aromatics), some doesn’t. Most pipe tobaccos don’t have any chemicals added.

Also, cigar tobacco is different than cigarette tobacco. Different growing methods, different origins.

3

Cigarette tobacco is treated with ammonia to make the nicotine more readily absorbed into the blood stream, the cut is also finer and doped with sugar to keep the tobacco burning.

4

There are worlds of difference between pipe tobaccos and that miserable abomination that is sold in mass-produced cigarettes. For example, one blend of pipe tobacco that I like is mostly bright virginia with a generous amount of long-cut perique, unflavored black cavendish, and air-cured ribbon.

Another blend is heavy on the latakia with a bit of oriental and perique to spice the note.

Then there is my currently favorite twist, which is mostly virginia with a bit of African and Turkish leaf for oomph.

Some pipe blends do have flavorings, often fruit extracts or vanilla in the USA, while flower extracts are used in Europe. Liquors are popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Some pipe tobaccos are smoked before blending. These are almost always used as “spice” tobaccos, deemed to strong to be the major constituent of a blend.

Cigar tobacco is again another world, stronger and more robust than pipe tobacco (even the mildest cigar tobaccos are rather strong), which makes sense, since the pipe concentrates and focuses the flavor to an intensity that would make cigar tobacco quite uncomfortable for most people.

Good cigars and good pipe tobacco brag about their quality, and charge accordingly. Serious pipesmokers think nothing of paying $10.00 (US) for a two-ounce (75g) tin, and that’s a bargain price for the good stuff. A good cigar begins at about $2.00 US each for a smaller one, and the really great ones can go for more than $20.00 each–and be worth it from the point of view of cigar lovers.

Mass-produced cigarettes, on the other hand, are not grown especially for high quality. They’re bred to produce a large profit margin on an item that has as small a per-unit price as possible. In addition, they have a bewildering variety of additives that are designed to make them burn evenly and fast. Their target market is people who buy them by the carton, the case, and the truckload and want as many as possible as cheaply as possible. And then public establishments that permit smoking have the gall to turn around and prohibit fine pipes and cigars but allow those miserable, foul-smelling, low-bred, uncouth mockeries of the art of imbibing smoke.
And then those of us who insist on quality get swept up in public backlash against the cheap trash.

5

So do pipe smokers actually inhale into the lungs, or do they only draw the smoke into the mouth, or what? I presume the smoke goes into some body cavity at some point, or else they’d just be burning the tobacco like incense. (Come to think of it, can one burn pipe tobacco as incense? Unlike cigarettes, I actually find pipe smoke somewhat pleasant.)

6

Most pipe and cigar smokers do not inhale, but just draw it into their mouths, as the smoke from pipe and cigar tobacco tends to be more dense than cigarette smoke (I’ve smoked all 3 in my time, though none for almost 4 years, now). That’s why pipe and cigar smokers tend not to get lung cancer, but instead get various mouth cancers.

7

Nice post, Dogface. As a cigar and pipe smoker, there’s not much I can add to it, but perhaps I can address psychonaut’s question:

The short answer is that pipe smokers (and cigar smokers. for that matter) only draw the smoke into the mouth.

The idea is to taste it. The blenders of both pipe and cigar tobacco design their blends for flavour, not for inhaling. There are a few pipe and cigar smokers who do inhale, mind, but they are very few–most of us take a draw, roll the smoke around in our mouths, and let it go. All we want is to enjoy the flavours.

I can’t recall if Pipes and Tobaccos magazine ever has, but certainly Cigar Aficionado magazine has stated a number of times that cigars are meant to be enjoyed for their flavour. And indeed, a glance at their cigar reviews reinforces this view: a review stating something like “flavor is slightly sweet with a mild, nutty taste” is not uncommon.

While I imagine burning pipe tobacco as incense is not beyond the realm of possibility, it would probably be easier (and as Dogface points out) cheaper to burn incense. Pipe tobacco will go out if left unattended, so unless you like blowing on it to keep it burning, either get some incense, or have a pipe-smoking friend over to scent the air for you.

8

Pipes and cigars are a smoking experience.

Cigarettes are a drug delivery system.

9

We don’t inhale, except for a few crusty old-timers who probably put granite in their peanut butter because it wouldn’t be crunchy enough otherwise.

The “body cavity” we take it into is the mouth. There is real flavor and aroma that is unique to puffing. Using tobacco as incense won’t give the same result.

And tobacco can be burnt like incense. You would need a moister tobacco and something like pure charcoal to keep it lit. Arabic water pipes work on this principle.

10

As an old time smoker I’ll have to admit to inhaling.
I quit 25 years ago.
If you like the smell of pipe smoke you can always roll your own.
Velvet was a favorite of mine.
There are a miriad of flavored tobaccos out there.
Find an interesting one and buy a pack of papers and roll away.

11

I like the smell of pipe tobacco a lot also. I actually bought a bag of the flavored type to try to burn as incense. It doesn’t work too well. It only lasts for about 30 seconds before it goes out, but it sure smells nice. If you could find a method to keep it lit it would work though. Oh, and I bought the really cheap kind so that might make a difference.

12

As a serious smoker and a Nicoteen(sp?) addict:
I can’t get good cigarettes from pipe tobacco, it is always to moist.

I inhale some, when smoking a pipe or a cigar. If I inhale much though, I will get a mild case of nicoteen poisoning.

I prefer pipe smoke, and the occaisonal cigar, but financial and time constraints dictate that I smoke mostly cigarettes. You do not want to meet me when I’m jonesin’ for nicoteen.