Before I begin: There is a risk with pipe smoking. It can cause cancer, and there are many studies on the risk of pipe vs cigarettes. If interested check out this study comparing the two. The study does have flaws, and does a decent job of bringing them to light. I will not give you shit if this scares you and you won't try smoking, but I feel that the risk is worth the reward. Also, this should be done in moderation, not every day.
Anyway...
The masses have forgotten how to relax. The time spent when a person's eyes are not on a screen is almost non-existent. People have forgotten how to think. To contemplate. To muse. This is why I smoke. The thing with pipe smoking is that it takes time. You can't run outside for ten minutes and light up. You must sit down. You must set aside time to smoke. Sure, you could turn on the TV while you smoke. You could, but that would distract you. Do you want to be distracted? It just you, and a pipe.
So you sit. And think. And puff. And relight. And puff. And contemplate. And puff. And relax.
So it becomes a ritual. You smoke. You relax, and reduce your stress. You get to know yourself a little better, and maybe feel better about yourself.
I ask you to try it. Go to your local tobacco store, get a inexpensive pipe (ask for an estate pipe) and try a few tobaccos. There are hundreds of blends, and you can purchase them in sample packs. They can range from peaty to sweet, and I have yet to hear someone complain about the smell of pipe tobacco. Have your local tobacco enthusiast teach you how to pack the pipe, light it, and smoke it. Draw from your pipe slowly. Draw the smoke into your mouth. Not your lungs! Take your time. It isn't a race. Taste the smoke on your pallet, notice the room notes ( smell from the smoke), and take some time to yourself.
Enjoy.
OK. Honestly. What percent of the reason you smoke pipes is so you can pretend you're General MacArthur? My uncle and father both smoked pipes for a time and I get it, it's manly and old, and tells everyone that you're the kind of guy that only drinks whiskey when you play your vinyls. I think you raise a very important point, about giving yourself time to think and relax, which is incredibly valuable for society today. But there are plenty of ways you can do that in private, so you gotta admit people smoke at least partially for looks :)
I actually almost never smoked in public because I was around 20 and looked hipsterish and didn't want to look like a poser. I still identify with everything goldbludgeon said. There are definitely more ways to stop and relax, but this used to be my favourite. (I'm unfortunately pretty much straight edge due to unrelated health problems and I do miss it)
I actually don't smoke it public. If I do smoke, it is in my own home, or in my car. Sure people smoke partially for looks. But people do almost everything in public for looks. Everyone wants to look good.
Touché! Puff on.But people do almost everything in public for looks. Everyone wants to look good.
Speaking of! I just bought a mechanical mod, and I liken it to smoking a pipe. It takes a decent amount of preparation, the maintenance is a bit of a pain, but you definitely take time to enjoy it. It's an interesting hobby. Trying to get the perfect setup for your particular juice. Optimizing flavor or throat hit. Building your own coils like a mad scientist. It feels good man.
Yeah! I've actually got some friends who are way into it, and I don't have a problem with it at all, as long as they're aware of the lack of scientific evidence about the health risks. That's super cool, though! I had a friend try to explain why building coils was necessary/preferable, but it all went over my head.
I don't doubt the question of the risks. But I feel like 5 years is a good amount of time to know that I'm not in any more danger than I would be with cigarettes. There is of course the question of the liquid ingredients. But if you buy from a reputable seller you can be fairly certain that the ingredients are propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and artificial flavors. All of which have been studied for a long time. We know how they break down in the body and that they are relatively safe. That of course doesn't mean that ingestion via the lungs is just as safe as ingesting them via the stomach or intestines. All that aside though, from my own experience I feel 400x better than I did while smoking, which is enough for me. And on the note of building coils, it's basically that with a mechanical mod the only way to regulate the heat of the coils is by changing the resistance of the coils. The lower the resistance the hotter the vape. It also means there's less wires and electronics that would increase your resistance. Another important thing is that you can change the surface area that will be heating your liquid. That of course means more vapor! That's the basics of it anyway, as I understand them. Edit: I didn't mention the danger of purposely short circuiting high discharge batteries to generate heat. That should be self explanatory. Well you aren't really short circuiting, but you can very easily get to that point if you don't know what you're doing. /responsible-adult-rant
I take that a step further and tell you: everyone should try a good hookah/shisha It has many aspects that you also discussed above, but it also adds the social part to it. I enjoy smoking with friends, passing the pipe from one person to the other while discussing different topics. As you said, it takes people away from their screens and into the moment. Plus, it tastes better than normal cigarettes :) I have been smoking shisha for the past 12 years. My lung capacity is still normal according to my doctor, no Idea why.