No tobacco - what next?

[elmenora]

The character is a healthy man in his late 20's who has smoked a pipe daily since he was about 12 - he comes from a place where this is normal and basically everyone smokes. During the story he travels to a distant land where tobacco is completely nonexistent. Obviously he's gonna have some withdrawl issues

Comments

[donutgirl]

he might plausibly be anxious and annoyed, and not know what to do with his hands and mouth. it's very likely he will pick up another habit to replace it -- like chewing on toothpicks or touching his lips or rubbing his hands together... that sort of thing.

most people have certain prompts for smoking. for some people it's time of day (first thing in the morning, last thing before bed, etc.). for some it's after meals. for some it's when they're drinking, for some it's when they're nervous or excited. or when they need to focus. it can also be any combination of these things.

when the character experiences one of these events, that's when he's most likely to rub his hands or drum his fingers on the table top or fiddle with his watch fob or whatever. he might miss the nicotine for a couple of days, but desire for the physical comfort of the habit is much more persistent, and that's what will bother him most.

[majolika]

[elmenora]

Ah, sorry. I wasn't very clear: he smokes much more than one bowl a day. Picture an old-timey farmer or sailor who's always puffing on their corncob pipe... it's more that kind of thing.

[suibhne_geilt]

Giving up a pipe will be a lot easier than giving up cigarettes. Pipe smokers don't inhale, we swish the smoke around in our mouths. Therefore we pick up a lot less nicotine, thus a lot less physical dependence on the chemical itself. Plus, the process of packing, lighting, and keeping a pipe lit is much more involved than just grabbing a cigarette, so the average pipe smoker won't have as many smokes a day as the average cigarette smoker.

Overall, any dependence on a pipe is going to be more psychological & behavioral. You don't smoke a pipe for the nicotine buzz, as much as for the flavor of the smoke, the ritual of packing and lighting it, and the relaxation of just kicking back and coaxing the smoke out. I'd totally buy him being restless without that little bit of daily ritual, especially if it were part of his normal routine - like having his pipe after dinner, or just before bedtime or something like that. And especially if that was his time to get some reading done, think on the day, or if it was his time to just be

[elmenora]

Thanks for all the information, that's really useful. I'm curious about the not inhaling - is that a modern thing, or has it been true historically as well?

I've also heard that nicotine can be absorbed through the mouth/gums even if one doesn't breathe the smoke. From what you're saying it sounds like the effect isn't noticeable from the amount you'd get smoking a pipe. Is that correct?

[suibhne_geilt]

Sure, some gets absorbed through the mouth, but nowhere near as much as inhaling the smoke.

[mindways]

If tobacco isn't around, might he try smoking something else?

(I've no idea if this is plausible beyond tales I've heard, nor what the likely effects of putting the smoke of random dried leaves in your mouth would be, but it seems in line with what people are saying re: the ritual / habit / physicality of it being more important than the tobacco proper.)

[mimerki]

One of my college friends rolled his own herbal cigarettes. I don't know the full details, but they were made entirely of things one could buy in the bulk herbs section of the local natural foods co-op and included things like dried rose buds and clover. I don't know how effective they were as cigarettes, but he always smelled nice.

[ficklepig]

He might end up looking for something else to smoke, too.

[ficklepig]

Hah! That's what I get for leaving a posting window open for 3 hours.