By There is a huge variety of shapes and qualities of smoking pipes, ranging from those made in series using machines to those made by hand by renowned artisans who can reach very high prices and constitute real collectors’ pieces. The material and shape of the pipe have a profound influence on the aesthetics and the development of a smoke.
Heather
It is in the vast majority of pipes sold today, whether made by hand or with machine, they are manufactured with heather with part of its timber extracted from the root of Erica Arborea, which grows in sandy and rocky soils of the Mediterranean regions. Its high resistance to heat, its hardness and the beauty of the wood drawings have made it the ideal material and most used to make pipes for smoking.
Meerschaum
The material called sea foam is a hydrated magnesium silicate, a mineral that is found mainly in small reservoirs around the city of Eskisehir in Central Turkey. It is highly valued for its plasticity, which allows it to be worked in decorative and figurative forms. Before the introduction of heather and along with clay, it was the most used material for the manufacturing of pipes. Originally white in color, with the use it absorbs elements of tobacco, changing its color to various shades of gold, brown and even black after several generations. The coloring process takes many years, still in our time, it is considered as a valuable legacy generally among first-born males of the same lineage i.e. grandfather, father and son.
Clay
A very fine white clay is used in its preparation. The poor quality pipes use porcelain formed from a mold. They are very porous and fragile and can transmit impure flavors to the smoker. The highest quality clay pipes, however, are manufactured by hand, and despite the high temperature that can generate during the smoking, allows to enjoy the almost pure flavor of tobacco.
Ceramics
Historically, ceramic smoking pipes are among the first used by mankind. The archaeological pieces were found in Mesoamerica during the pre-Hispanic era.
Corn
Maize smoking pipes are made using the ear of a variety of maize grown for this purpose in the United States. They are usually cheap and not very durable. The most famous smoker of this type of pipe was General Douglas MacArthur. There are, however, heavy pipe smokers of fictional characters such as Popeye.
Cigarette seems to be more harmful while water pipes for sale do not appear to be much harmful as water filters the toxins. However, whether you are a cigarette or a water pipe smoker, you should visit the otorhinolaryngologist once a year at least. The dentist will perform the examination of your mouth and examine the pharynx and larynx. It is very important to let the dentist know that you smoke water pipe, even if that means enduring the consequent ‘sermon’. The most important part to examine is the larynx. It can be inspected with the classic mirror at 45º, but the most effective way to rule out any problem is through a fibroscopy. It is a flexible tube, about 5mm thick, equipped with a light and an optical system. It is inserted through one nostril after applying some anesthetic spray to prevent coughing and gagging. It can be just a little annoying, but it can be tolerated by anyone and, if everything is normal and is limited to ‘entering, seeing and leaving’, it lasts no more than two minutes.
As for the lung, it is clear that more than just auscultation should be done, which may give clues to bronchitis and emphysema, but it is completely incapable of diagnosing a curable lung cancer. The chest X-ray may make some early diagnosis, but sometimes some tumors escape. The ideal test is TAC if it is helical and high resolution. The value of this test as an early diagnosis is still under study, but it is very likely that it will soon be recommended for all smokers of water pipes for sale, as it is already done with PSA for prostate, mammograms and breast cancer, or the Papanicola for Cancer of the cervix. I think any pipe smoker of water pipes for sale should not miss more than two years without getting his/her lungs seen one way or the other.
I understand that these tests are not always covered by Social Security. There may be more medical assistants and some less. In any case, I am only talking about a dentist, the otorhinolaryngologist and the general practitioner every year, some blood tests, and some X-rays. The economic and personal cost is, in my opinion, very low compared to the potential benefits. I want to emphasize that all the tobacco related diseases mentioned above are curable if diagnosed and treated on time.
