What is it that draws you to a pipe over a cigar or a cigarette?

I never smoked cigarettes and they never appealed to me either because:

With a pipe you are left with something after a smoke, besides ash and a stub you'll throw away anyway. The fact you can fuss about and twiddle and play with lots of different gadgets quite agrees with my character and personality as well. Also, it's hopelessly old-fashioned, and I have a peculiar penchant for all things retro.

Cigarettes . . . what's the point?

Concerning cigars, they are how I got into tobacco in the first place. And frankly, if I could smoke cigars in the house, I would probably be happily puffing away on sticks and would never have gotten into pipes like I have. I am glad that it has worked out the way it has, though. I really enjoy pipe smoking: The beauty, craftsmanship, and collecting aspect of the pipes themselves . . . the variety of tobaccos and their low price compared to cigars . . . the methodic process of packing, smoking, and cleaning a pipe . . . little tools and gadgets . . . the relaxation that comes from holding a pipe. It's all good.

Well I suppose I use most forms of tobacco, so I'm a good person to answer this.

There is no appeal to ciggarettes, this is merely a stress triggered usuage for me. I've never had a ciggarette to relax or enjoy. I have ciggarettes to calm down or take a break. In fact I'm slowly looking to break myself of them alltogether. The only time I have a fag now is maybe once or twice at work ( over a time span of 8-12 hours). Compared to this my pipe truly is a 45 minute period of complete relaxation. It is almost always accompainied by a nice stroll, a nice cup of coffee, a good book, or a nice view.

Cigars are kind of appealing to me for the taste, but this doesn't compare to pleasure I get out of smoking pipe, nor does there seem to be such a choice in tobacco preference.

Now hookah is almost as appealing to me as the pipe, because there is something special and hobby-ish about having any kind of smoking apparatus. You have to take care of them, clean them, toy with lighting/smoking them, and enjoy collecting them. However there is no break in for hookahs, no rotation, no real thought about them. When you have a pipe there are many subtlties to consider. It's almost like you put "work" into the pipe to make it more enjoyable. This is not so with the hookah. Hookahs have a very social aspect, but this does not compare to the comradory that exists when two pipe smokers cross paths (no matter how infrequently).

Snuff is essentially a medicinal thing for me. A wake me up, a decongestent. So there is no need to compare this.

American snuff has no appeal. A little bit(sometimes) of tounge bite for a long, tasty, enjoyable smoke is infinitly better then open sores and bloody gums for a long, "flavoured," "enjoyable," chew. If I still played any sports chew might have some appeal, but then if I still play sports I would probably be a bit to health concerned to use any tobacco to begin with.

Cigarettes: As I said, never took the habit but on the few occassions I did pretend to try there just wasn't much there, tobacco wrapped in paper with a horrible zero body taste. As a bonus, they make you cough like hell and all in all it's kind of a useless exercise in nicotine procurement, I enjoyed snuff, I really enjoy a pipe but never could I or would I waste my time on coffin nails.

Cigars: Sort of a trendy, yuppy thing to do. If you think about it, 30 years ago, the only folks you really saw smoking cigars were old cuban men and the uncooth brothers of the burley codgers who lacked the patience to learn to smoke a pipe properly. Add to this the expense and the fact that to many people (myself included) they tend to have the room not of a dog turd wrapped in burnt hair) and, well, I just have to say no thanks.

Pipes, are the bomb! Not only are they retro and old fashioned but quite enjoyable and provide a diversity of flavors and experiences not available with other types of tobacco. Any idiot can burn a cigarette or a cigar but with pipes there's a certain "know what you're doing factor" and that's cool. As a side note, it seems that most people are a bit more tolerant of pipe smokers than gartards or buttheads. I guess it's that patient, thoughtful, kindly old, reminds them of Grandpa image that a pipe imparts. Certainly no tobacco users are free of harassment in this day and age but it seems like even when I'm smoking PA invariably someone will come up to me and say, Gee that pipe smells good. Nice to know you can do that without really trying. Doesn't happen often with balkan or heavy English blends and I've never seen it happen to anyone smoking a cigar or cigarette.

I smoked cigarettes for too many years,but they kept me on an even keel so to speak. I've slowed my activities down as I've gotten older and a pipe has helped me to relax.
There is so much more pleasure and versatility in pipe smoking. Different pipes as well as tobaccos. I spend far less not smoking cigarettes also.
A cigar for me is sort of like a hot fudge sundae...I'll have one once a year and that's about all I can handle.

4 years ago, gained 40 pounds. I went back to smoking them. About 2 years ago I quit again, same thing, this time my doctor said go back to smoking. Next month I am sure to get yelled at again since I havn't lost any of it but one thing is for sure - He won't tell me to quit smoking.

Butts do kind of keep you on an even keel, but I think as much of the stress they relieve is also caused by not having one for an hour (or how ever frequently you light one up). Convenience is the key factor.

Pipe smoking as we all know are a love affair. Pipes provide relaxation, contentment and above all companionship. Indeed I have some very old good friends. My Savinelli, my basket brandy, my bent pot - these have been with me for over 20 years, how could I not cherish thier company with all the good smokes we have had. Then I have some new friends a couple of full bents, the Slug and a bulldog.

Then there is the leaf, oh the variety. Different flavors, cuts, processes, as well as leaf, an endless variety and sheer delight to the senses. It all smells so good and I want to sample every tin. I would never think that about all the brands of cigaretts out there.

Cigarettes are like one night stands. Cheap, easy, meaningless. The quick hit. Walk away satisfied but with a bad taste in your mouth & feeling guilty you do it.
Cigars. You just have to look at the size & shape of a cigar to figure out what the issue is here. These guys have something to prove, something they're feeling inferior about, something they need to show the world & the bigger it is the better. The fact that they're often smoked by shallow, noveau rich, swaggering show-offs in public places underlines my point. I guess cigars are the equivalent of an evening at a high-end knock shop - lots of glamour, but when you strip it down to basics, you're left with an empty feeling & emptier pockets. Having said all of that, it's my birthday next month - gift packs of Davidoff Milleniums will not be returned.
Pipes. Here we're talking the real thing. A man has a long term relationship with pipes - nurturing, caring, taking the time. Pipe smokers are different, more respectable altogether, men of the highest moral character & loyalty. The develop deep & lasting relationships with their chosen favourite pipes & tobaccos. Ever heard of My Cigarettes Community? No, pipe smokers are a breed apart & always have been, which is why our ranks have been occasioned by the likes of Albert Einstein, Gerald Ford, JP Sartre & Joseph Stalin, oops, I mean Mark Twain (forgot where this site was hosted for a moment there). Finally, pipe smoking is a way of life. That can hardly be said of the other two.

I'll be quiet now.

wood. Wood is a wonderful creation. It's better than steel and other things. It's one of my favorite substances.

A cigar is a training aid for a c@(ksucker oops did I cross the line?...probably...Sorry

I actually asked a gartard last week, How do you get over the feeling that you are sucking ____. Can't remember what said. Hey rp, did he comment on that?

I smoked cigarettes along with pipes and cigars. Ten years ago, I found myself up to two packs a day and decided to quit. I took the pill, which worked like a charm. I still enjoy pipes and cigars. Nothing could make me touch a cigarette again.

I like pipes year-round, though I sometimes grab a cigar from my humidor in warmer weather. But a nice n' full English or Balkan is the perfect complement to cooler temperatures.

I love ciggs, the nicotene, and smoked 2 packs a day for years. I began to have circulation problems in the legs, had to have surgery. The Dr. said no more smoking. I always smoked a pipe and don't inhale pipe smoke. I haven't had a cigg in almost 2 months and still don't inhale my pipe. I'm getting used to not having the big N rush. My pipe has helped me thru it. God I do miss the ciggs though. If I want to live can't do it anymore. I'm only 55.
Dave

I like the feeling of the nic. rush...but cigarettes just taste bad. They don't have much aesthetic appeal, and everything smells stale after you smoke them.

Cigars are ok...but god are they a hassle...If you don't keep them just right for humidity and whatever, then they don't burn right...and also...I can buy two tins of nice pipe tobacco for the price of one cigar...the tins will last me probably 40 hours...the cigar 40 minutes...you do the math...though a pack of Cohibas is nice for something like a canoe trip where you are afraid to drop a pipe in the water..

but pipes in general have it all...great taste, a plethora of tobacco choices...and as many types of tobacco there are, there are more types of pipes...and that artistry is a great part of the draw for me. plus...it is nice to sit and relax for an hour and a half...

Cheers,

Josh

I couldn't believe it when you said that to him ... nearly made me brake out laughing in the guy's face. OMG.

The things that initially drew me to a pipe are not the things that draw me today. Initially I was drawn to the wood and the pretty smell of aromatics. Obviously the aromatic phase is long over (thank God), but I do still love a beautifully grained pipe. That special something about the stem material / stem shape / bowl grain / stain color ... these are the things about the pipe itself that keep my interest today.

But thats not why I smoke my pipes over cigars or cigarettes. Let me say besides one or two cigarettes when I was a teenager, I've never smoked cigarettes and never will. Cigars on the other hand can't hold me because, well, they just stink! Oh sure, they have a big, bold flavor and there is something cool about sitting in the garshop while puffing on a cigar but thats the extent of it for me. My pipes however are the friends of my private times. The ones I turn to when no one is looking. They're cool because they're part of me. They're not just something I do but rather are an extension of who I am. And its the friends you keep in private that are your closest friends. Those you have like the gar in the garshop are for fun and to make you feel like you're someone that you're really not. They're false and the relationship since it is built on a false foundation simply can't stand the test of time.

Variety is the spice of life. Every gar I've tried taste pretty much the same. And that taste is typically pretty repulsive to me. But the cornucopia of pipe tobaccos out there make smoking my pipes an ever exciting adventure.

Lastly, you're all part of the reason I keep smoking my pipes. Oh don't get a big head over it, I'd keep smoking them without ya too! But you all keep the conversation new and the discussions here about new tobaccos keep my interest peaked! So there, I said it, YOU'RE to blame!

Your remarks are right on target. A cigar tastes like a cigar, a cigarette tastes like a cigarette, you either like those tastes or you don't. As has been so brilliantly documented on this very site however, is the fact that a pipe can taste like a million different things. There certainly is no generic pipe taste. Burley, Virginia, English, Balkan, Aromatic they are all very different tastes and experiences with just about and endless variation between blends in each category. As such, there would seem to be something for everyone to love and that's before we get into the myriad of different pipes, pipemakers and shapes which (as we all know is also a big factor in the character and taste of a given blend.) I was reminded of this very effectively last evening. Nightcap in a briar is good, but Nightcap in the coral is an altogether different thing, extremely good, almost magic.

Being a user of most things tobacco, the one thing that makes me choose the pipe over anything else has to be the flavor more than anything else. I can get plenty of nic from cigarettes or snuff if I so desire - and quicker.

A cigar is a straight forward smoke that takes forever and never seems to evolve much, so I don't really smoke then too much. I would much rather chop them up and add them to a mix of latakia, VA, perique and a bit of cavendish.

The pipe gives me all the things I look for in a smoke. Not only is it immensely relaxing, but a bowlful of full flavored natural tobacco is just an amazing passtime. Cigarettes can have a wonderful flavor as well (hand rolled), but they don't last long and the nic hit makes you feel full shortly thereafter. A pipe is like a nice Sunday dinner.