# How Come Pipe Smoke Smells Good, But Cigarette Smoke Smells Like Ass? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124 "2005-11-15T05:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/21 "2005-11-15T18:39:23Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > The highest quality tobacco leaf is used for cigars. That’s as may be, but while cigs smell like ass, cigars smell more like what comes out of ass. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/22 "2005-11-15T19:52:17Z")
Ok. So it’s agreed. Pipe tobacco smells wonderful unless you hate the smell. Cigars smell good, smoked or unlit, unless you hate the smell. And cigarettes smell good unless they don’t. Some types of tobacco smell like ass. Or not. Let’s put this one to bed. We solved that one. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/23 "2005-11-15T19:56:39Z")
> [@CC](#): > > Ok. So it’s agreed. Pipe tobacco smells wonderful unless you hate the smell. Cigars smell good, smoked or unlit, unless you hate the smell. And cigarettes smell good unless they don’t. Some types of tobacco smell like ass. Or not. Let’s put this one to bed. We solved that one. xo, C. I think you nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/24 "2005-11-15T20:18:58Z")
Here’s how they smell to me : Cigars and pipes, both nauseating; they’ve been known to make me throw up. Cigarettes aren’t nauseating, but they make my throat, nose and eyes burn. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/25 "2005-11-15T20:30:40Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > Here’s how they smell to me : Cigars and pipes, both nauseating; they’ve been known to make me throw up. Cigarettes aren’t nauseating, but they make my throat, nose and eyes burn. I have the same reaction to clove cigarettes. The smell makes me wanna puke. Cigarettes? Not so bad. Pipe tobacco also makes me slightly nauseated. Cigar? Smells great. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/26 "2005-11-15T20:47:20Z")
I have to say this because of the thread title. You are bound to smell ass if you hold a butt to your lips. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/27 "2005-11-15T20:48:37Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > Both smell like something’s on fire. Whether you find either smell pleasant, either in the air or on you, is a matter of opinion. Unless you are the one passing the opinion, in which case it’s fact? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/28 "2005-11-16T01:14:46Z")
If you think that cigarette smoke smells like “ass”, you have apparently not smelled ass. Quite different. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/29 "2005-11-16T01:29:48Z")
My grandfathers smoked - one, cigars, the other, a pipe. I can still recall the smells of their houses. The one smelled disgusting, both the house and his person and his breath, from the ungodly stench of cigars. I still hate that smell. The other, well, one of my favorite scent memories is going to their house early on a Saturday morning. My grandpa would have come home from working nights, had a cup of freshly percolated coffee and some toast with peanut butter, and would then sit in the living room, reading the paper and smoking his pipe. The whole house smelled like a combination of the three, and I can still conjure it up. As a matter of fact, the house still smelled like his pipe smoke twenty years after he died. I think his brand may have been “Amphora.” I guess his was the last pipe smoke I smelled - I can’t think of anyone I’ve known since who smoked one. I smoke cigarettes, and I can discern different smells from different brands. I’m more familiar with Canadian tobacco, having come from there. Export A smells different from DuMaurier or Rothman’s or Number 7 or Players. We lived close to the border, and people would always go over and bring back American cigarettes. And you could always tell in an instant when someone had been smoking American cigarettes, because they smell like ass. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/30 "2005-11-16T03:22:04Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > My grandfathers smoked - one, cigars, the other, a pipe. I can still recall the smells of their houses. The one smelled disgusting, both the house and his person and his breath, from the ungodly stench of cigars. I still hate that smell. Hmm. My grampa smoked cigars, and I love the smell for that reason. Good memories, tinged with sadness now that he’s been dead for so long. Also a sense of freedom because I inherited my first-ever car from him and the smell was embedded. They say that smell is the sense most associated with memory, and I sure believe it. Yes, the cigars killed him. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Caractacus\_Pott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Caractacus\_Pott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caractacus_Pott)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/31 "2005-11-16T05:12:51Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > I have to say this because of the thread title. > > You are bound to smell ass if you hold a butt to your lips. Harmonious I tip my hat to your cleverness. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/32 "2005-11-16T05:50:24Z")
Regarding the way cigars smell; it is because the tobacco leaves are fermented, and the finished cigars are usually aged, like wine or cheese. I find the odor quite acrid and unpleasant, though. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/33 "2005-11-16T07:03:07Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > If you think that cigarette smoke smells like “ass”, you have apparently not smelled ass. Quite different. That was my first thought. How does he know what ass smells like. I’m reminded of a Navy joke. A sailor was in the station barbershope getting a haircut with an officer in the next chair. The barber started to put some hair tonic on the officer who drew back and said, “Don’t use that. My wife will think I smell like a whorehouse.” “Use all you want on me,” piped up the sailor, “My wife doesn’t know what a whorehouse smells like.” ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/34 "2005-11-16T08:12:10Z")
off topic little tidbit, For those of you that love the smell of those wonderfully scented pipe tobaccos, but dont smoke. If you have a fireplace, get a small tin and toss a little on the very front of the coals once the fire settles down. You should end up with your favorite pipe tobacco scent filling the room. Try and aim for the edge so as not to instantly incinerate it. My in laws do this and it works wonderfully. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124/35 "2005-11-16T15:52:23Z")
I quit tobacco about 30 years ago. I found out back then that the Cavendish tobaccos originated when tobacco was crammed into barrels for shipment to Europe. During the trip, it fermented a bit, giving it a sweet smell and taste. Shipping is much faster and drier now, but Cavendish is still fermented. I kept some pipe tobacco around for a good five years after I quit smoking, buying a new packet now and then, just for the aroma of the unburned tobacco. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-pipe-smoke-smells-good-but-cigarette-smoke-smells-like-ass/331124.md?page=1)