Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-08-03
rosAccO PIPES DIAGNOSED.
Medical Preference for Clay Over
wOod-Obje jectiouabie Mouth piece..


Medical Preference for Clay Over
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Mouthpiece..
If tobacco smoking is justif1able at Gll
on hyglenlc grounds, it is generally con-
ceded that the pipe Is the least injuri.
GUS means. But tobacco pipes differ
considerably in material and shape,
both of which must be important fac
tors in determining the charG cter Of the
smoke. Thus there Is the clay, the
meerschaurn, and the various wooden
pipes, the brieP, the cherry, or myan.
Next to the tsbacco, therefore, which
should always be pure and free from
added favOring, an expedient which Is
res0rted to far too commonly nova
days, probably in many instances to
cover an inferior quality of tobacco, tho
best kind of pipe is the point to be con-
sidered.
Even assuming that ne IL smoking
good tobacco, the smoker knows how
different In character the smoke Is
when drawn from a clay or a wooden
bowl. There is probably a scientific ex-
PLANTATION of this fact which must have
some bearing on the noxious or innocu-
Gus character of the smoke asSocia ted
with other products Of combustion. A
soft clay is Invariably cool smoking,
because the acrid oils obtained in the
destructive dlstillatiOn of the tobacco
are absorbed instead of collecting In
little pool, which must eventually, eith-
er by the volatiliZation or by mechani-
cal conveyance, reach the mouth. A
particular pipe Smokes hot" not nee
essarily because the temperture of the
smoke is high, but because 1T favors the
passage by one Of these means of the
oils into the mouth. Meerschaum is an
other porous material.
Again, an old wooden pipe or brler,
so dear TO inveterate smokers. becomes
Smooth smoking" because the pores of
the wood widen and so absorb, as Is the
Ease with clay and meerschaum. large
proportion Of the tobacco oils. Thus an
old pipe "sweats," as 1t IS termed-that
is, the OIL tntrudes into the expanded
pores Of the wooden bowl. and Mt length
exudes. Similarly hook shaped pipe
must be better than n pipe the bowl of
which Is On the same level as the
mouth, for the simple reason that in the
former a considerable quantity of the
oil is kept back in the U-shaped part of
the pipe while in the latter the Oil trav.
ais easily down the stem.
Ebonite stems are in general obtcc-
tionable because they commonly spoil
the true flavor of tobacco smoke This
is most probably due TO the sulphur of
the cSon!tc combining with the volatile
oils in the smoke. We know Instances
where ebonite stems have produced dis
tinctly Objectionable symptoms in the
throat, most probably for the reason
Just given. Bone or real amber makes
a much more satisfactory stem, or the
pipes should be of wood throughout
Amber substitutes, and especially cellu-
lOid, should be discarded entirely as
dangerous, while the flavor of camphor
which these invariably communicate to
the smoke forms q very unpleasant
combination.
Pipes Of special construction cannot
be regarded with much favor, such as
those which are said to be hygienic, and
usually contain so-called nicotine abb
sorber. Those smokers who require
such auxiliary attachments had better
not smoke at all. As a matter of fact
tobacco yields little nicotine in the
smoke produced on its partial c0mbus-
ton. 1t Is mainly to oils of q tarry and
acrid character that the toxic symp-
toms Of tobacco are due-London Ian