The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1898-04-08
TOBACCO PIPES.
A Medical Authority That Says Clay I,
Preferable to Wood.


If tobacco smoking is justifiable at all
on hygienic grounds, says The Lancet,
it is generally conceded that the pipe is
the least injurious means. But tobacco
pipes differ considerably in material
and shapes, both Of which must be i'm
portant. factors in determining the char
acter Of the smoke. Thus there are the
clay, the meerschaum and the various
wooden pipes, the brier, cherry or my
all. Next TO the tobacco, therefore,
which should always be pure and free
from added fiavOring, an expedient
which is resOrted to far too commonly
nowadays, probably in many instances
to cover an inferior quality Of tobacco,
the best kind Of pipe is a point to be
considered. Even assuming that he is
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 fat which must have
some bearing on the nOXiOus or innOcu-
Gus character Of the smoke associated
with other products Of combustion.
a soft clay is invariably cool smOk-
ing because the acid oils obtained on
the destructive distillatiOn Of the tobac-
CO are absorbed instead Of collecting in
a little pool, which must eventually
either by the volatilization or by me-
chanical conveyance reach the mouth.
a particular pipe "smOkes hot" not
necessarily because the temperature Of
the smoke is high, 'but because it favors
the passage by one Of these means Of
the oils into the mouth. MeersChaum Is
another porous material. Again, an Old
wooden pipe or brier, so dear to invet-
crate smokers, becomes "smoOth smok-
ing" because the pores Of the wood
widen and so absorb, IS is the case with
clay or meersChaum, a large proportion
of the tobacco OIL.
Thus an old pipe "sweats" " as it is
termed-that is, the oil intrudes into
the expanded pores Of the wooden bowl
and at length exudes. Similarly a hook
shaped pipe must be better than a pipe
the bowl of which is on the same level
with the mouth, for the simple reason
that in the former a considerable guam
tity of the oil is kept back in the u
shaped part of the pipe, while in the
latter the oil travels easily down the
stem. Ebonite stems are in general OBJ
jectiOnable because they commonly spoil
the true favor of tobacco smoke. This
is most probably due to the sulphur Of
the ebonite 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 celluloid,
should be discarded entirely as danger
Gus, while the flavor Of camphor which
these invariably communicate to the
smoke forms very unpleasant combi-
nation. Pipes of special construction
cannot be regarded with much favor
such as those which are said to be by
gienic and usually contain a so called
nicotine absorber. 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 combus-
tiOn. It is mainly TO oils Of a tarry and
acrid character that the toxic symptoms
Of tobacco smoking are due.