I think they are supposed to be very slightly safer because the stem traps a lot of the tar. Also, pipe-smokers don't rush things and are not noted for chain-smoking that way, so are probably exposed to less tobacco smoke over a year than many cigarette smokers. I still would not risk it though!
Those supposed qualities pipe-smokers have, go back a long way.
My parents used to buy a Sunday paper I seem to recall having a gardening-advice column whose heading drawing showed "Adam the Gardener" as a finely-bearded chap of definitely-mature years, smoking a pipe.
I have seen advertisements in old commercial engineering publications, typically illustrated by artwork rather than photos. Many depict an affable character we assume is one of the company's customers, saying things like, "I know I can rely on Acme Nuts and Bolts", and in many such drawings, the dapper gentleman is holding a pipe.
It seems to lend a certain "gravitas" to the person. Like wearing glasses. Do you find that odd that I would think that about glasses? I don't know if those who wear glasses are more intelligent than those who don't but somewhere way back when the two seemed connected. Now I know there is laser surgery to correct that if your vision problem is the type that would be suitable for correction. And I know there are contact lenses which you cannot really notice. But wasn't "smart" often depicted as wearing glasses and reading books?
Also a "smoking" jacket with leather on the elbows. I don't know what that was about but did they wear the jacket when they smoked a pipe? And then there is the "pipe and slippers". At the end of day you change from your clothes to your nightwear and robe and sit by the fire smoking a pipe? I wonder who invented pipes? Some are quite lovely works of art and probably are never used to actually smoke. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply Durdle. Of course that was all before we knew that smoking causes cancer. Happy Thursday to thee and thine m'dear! :)
This post was edited by RosieG at September 10, 2020 2:16 AM MDT
As mentioned in another thread, it is less harmful - slightly. Many of the chemicals used to treat cigarette tobacco are absent from pipe tobacco, and as Durdle pointed out, the stem traps a lot of the heavy stuff (as anybody who has seen how gnarly a used pipe cleaner looks can attest to - gross). The smoke isn't inhaled as deeply, either. However, the lungs still don't like it, however much the brain screams for nicotine.
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at September 10, 2020 2:17 AM MDT
I am far more apt to be drawn to someone who smokes a pipe than someone who smokes cigarettes. To put it in a foodie context. Pipes are filet mignon and cigarettes are mystery meat bologna! Pipes are elegant and classy. Cigarettes are down and dirty. My dad smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day and he was a gentle man and I loved him dearly. I never saw him smoke a pipe or a cigar. He quit because the doc said it was bad for his heart. That was before they knew cigarettes cause lung cancer. So my dad quit cold turkey. But not too long thereafter he died in his sleep of a heart attack. The damage had been done before he quit. Remember doctors would do commercials or advertisements about the brand of cigarettes they preferred? So odd now but it was "normal" then. Thank you for your reply R! :)
Durdle 