thumb|270px|Bearded man smoking a pipe

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

thumb|left|210px|Protohistoric [[Catlinite pipe bowl, probably Ioway, from the Wanampito site]]

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.

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 (18391842) and Second Opium War (18561860).

thumb|Model Jim Chadwick smoking a pipe 1969

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.

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. By comparison, Canadian cigarette sales fell about 32% in the same period to 28.6 billion units.

Pipes

thumb|190px|right| A selection of various pipes on a circular pipe rack

Pipes have been fashioned from an assortment of materials including briar, clay, ceramic, corncob, glass, meerschaum, metal, gourd, stone, wood, bog oak and various combinations thereof, most notably, the classic English calabash pipe.

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 or other substances such as ground cannabis or 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 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 carburettor (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.

Health effects

The overall health risks are 10% higher in pipe smokers than in non-smokers. However, pipe or cigar smokers who are former-cigarette smokers might retain a habit of smoke inhalation.

Notable pipe smokers

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A number of people and fictional characters are strongly associated with the hobby of pipe smoking.

  • Sparky Anderson, American baseball manager.
  • , Argentine writer.
  • Rómulo Betancourt (1908–1981), President of Venezuela.
  • 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.
  • Abelardo Castillo, Argentine writer.
  • William Faulkner, American author, known to be an enthusiastic proponent of pipe smoking.
  • Manuel Felguérez, Mexican artist.
  • Che Guevara (1928–1967), Argentinian revolutionary, who was known to enjoy a pipe from time to time, in addition to his usual cigar.
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Although more known for his chain-smoking of cigarettes, he enjoyed pipe tobacco. His blend of choice was Walnut, a discontinued blend of the John Middleton Co., named after Walnut Street (Philadelphia).
  • John N. Mitchell (1913–1988), 67th Attorney General of the United States (1969–1972) under President Richard Nixon.
  • Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet.
  • Troy Serapion (1977–present) Avid pipe smoker...
  • J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973), English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He favored a billiards pipe and was an aficionado of Capstan Medium Navy Cut.
  • 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."
  • Harold Wilson (1916–1995), UK Prime Minister (1964–1970, 1974–1976).
  • Roger, Pongo's owner in 101 Dalmatians.
  • Sherlock Holmes, British literary character. He is explicitly described as a pipe smoker.
  • Kapitein Rob, Dutch comics character.

More examples can be found in the Pipe Smoker of the Year list.

<gallery widths="115" heights="180" class="center" caption="Click on image for larger view">

File:Gerrit Dou selfport - cropped and downsized.jpg|Gerrit Dou: self-portrait with long-stemmed clay pipe (1645)

File:Komon gawa.jpg|Man smoking kiseru. Cover illustration of the novel Komon gawa ("Elegant chats on fabric design") by Santō Kyōden, 1790

File:მელიტონ ბალანჩივაძე.jpg|Georgian composer, Meliton Balanchivadze smoking pipe

File:Tiger smoking bamboo pipe.jpg|Tiger smoking a bamboo pipe, Korean folk painting from Joseon period

File:Arabpipe.jpg|Arab man smoking pipe, late 1800s

</gallery>

<gallery widths="220" heights="150" class="center">

File:Indianerpfeifen.jpg|Various styles of Native American ceremonial pipes

File:Lord Harold Wilson 2 Allan Warren.jpg|Lord Wilson

File:Francesc Galofré i Oller- Un model- 251.JPG|Model, 1894<br>by

File:Dionís Baixeras i Verdaguer- Retrat d'un boter de la Barceloneta- 229.JPG| Portrait of a fisherman, 1890<br>by Dionisio Baixeras i Veraguer

File:BMVB - Simó Gómez Polo - Moro - 1658.jpg|Portrait of a Muslim, 1880<br>by Simó Gómez

File:Aarre-Merikanto-1950s.jpg|Aarre Merikanto, a Finnish composer, smoking pipe in 1950s

</gallery>

See also

For tobacco products

  • Kiseru
  • Midwakh
  • Tobacco pipe

For cannabis

  • Bong
  • Cannabis pipe
  • Chalice
  • Chillum
  • One hitter
  • Sebsi

Other substances

  • Opium pipe

References

  • Pipes: Logos & Markings: Pipe brands by pictures.
  • Pipe Smoking: A history of pipe smoking and its modern-day practice.