Originally Posted by Jasper Storm

Pipe smoking is the "least unhealthy" way to use tobacco, but it is still unhealthy.

It is impossible not to inhale some of your own smoke, unless you blow it into a shop-vac hose or something. I always smoked pipes outdoors, but would still get breaths of my "secondhand" smoke.

While nicotine can be beneficial to one's mental performance, it's still not good for your cardiovascular system. My heart gets enough of a workout when I'm riding. I don't know what blends you smoke, I recall some serious nicotine jags from rich English blends (like Dunhill Nitecap, my all time favorite.)



Mouth/tongue/lip cancers can be spotted early if you get your teeth cleaned every six months, as dentists routinely do a quick visual cancer screening. Esophagus cancer might be a different story. Lung cancer rates are still higher for pipe smokers than non smokers, but obviously nowhere near the rate of cigarette smokers.

I love smoking a fine briar packed with tobacco from a freshly opened tin. It is relaxing, but I decided to just let it go. I still have a couple of pipes somewhere, unused. Pipes are the easiest form of tobacco to quit, in my book. If I were you I'd do it now.