Pipe smoking: breaks Eucharistic fast?

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I’ve taken to smoking a pipe when I have some downtime between work, school, and church. I plan on going to confession and mass tomorrow after school, confession first at about 5:30, mass at 6:30. Since entering the Church this past Easter Vigil, I’ve been practicing the traditional 12hr Eucharistic fast. So my question, does pipe tobacco break the fast? Wondering if I can enjoy my pipe tonight, or ought to wait till tomorrow.

Thanks!
 
I’m pretty sure smoking is not included in any fasting conditions, so you should be good either way. However, smoking is a nasty habit. What would Jesus think. 🤔😉
Anyway, just wanted to clear something up: There’s no such thing as a 12h fast. The traditional Eucharistic fast was not set to a specific amount of time but instead from 12am the night before. That is, if you are going to Mass at 10 on a Sunday you’d be fasting from 12 midnight. If you were going to Mass at 1pm on Sunday you’d still be fasting from 12 midnight. If you were going to Mass at 4pm… You’d probably not be going to communion.😂
 
The pipe isn’t food, nor does it break the fast in any way… however, there are, of course, other consequences to its use (health-wise)

Edit to add: regardless of your preferred practice, you are never obligated to more than what Canon Law asks - a one hour fast.
 
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Right, I suppose I had gotten midnight in my head, which turned to 12, which I then misremembered as 12 hours 🤷‍♂️

And right, I know I’m not obligated to fast more than an hour, just like the tradition. And it certainly is a good one, I’d think.

Thanks all!
 
A twelve hours fast is not required. It is wholly up to you to decide whether to smoke within twelve hours of the Eucharist.
 
I’ve only just started in the past month and a half or so, so I got a starter kit from Cup O Joe’s. It had a small-ish Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipe and a sample of Lane Limited Golden Cavendish. That’s nearly gone though, so I’ve started on a bag of Stokkebye Whiskey 😀
 
I got myself a Missouri Meerschaum Freehand and some Nat Sherman 314

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The Washington.
Interesting name, because I don’t know whether he smoked a pipe.
 
My dad used to smoke a pipe. He used good quality tobacco and pipes. I have missed smelling it around the house since he died. I would take it up myself but I’m concerned about health risk of smoking and thus have never smoked.
 
StephenBales said:
The Washington.
Interesting name, because I don’t know whether he smoked a pipe.
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It reminds me more of General Douglas MacArthur actually.

I smoked a pipe briefly many years ago. I liked Dunhill Standard Mixture. Smelled awful but tasted great.
 
I always thought the fast is broken when it is something you can swallow. So like gum doesnt break the fast because it cannot be swallowed, or should not be swallowed, although it best to refrain from chewing gum at mass.
 
Something like accidentally swallowing some toothpaste or mouthwash when you’re cleaning your teeth before Mass would not count as breaking the fast, as it is not food and you didn’t intend to eat it.

Also, medicine and water are permitted to be swallowed.

I know we have had a debate on here before about gum and breath mints. I personally would not have either one because I consider the sugar or sweetener in the gum or mints to be a food product. Some others disagree with my view.
 
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Canon 919 is a discipline to help us prepare for the Eucharist as prescribed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. To say smoking isn’t a part of Canon 919 is true, but you must think of why Canon 919 exists in the first place. People in Corinth were going to church drunk, partying, or any sort of pleasurable activity, maybe even sex, so Paul wants each individual Catholic to discern themselves and prepare for receiving the Eucharist in a worthy manner.

In 1 Corinthians 5:19-20, we are told that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, living tabernacles for the bread of life. If you are already asking whether smoking anything 1 hour before the Eucharist is okay or not, the very fact that the question exist should make you feel like you shouldn’t do it, however, Paul challenges you to not even smoke at all. I assume you already know the dangers of smoking (even vaporizers are dangerous). I personally think that smoking is a form of willful damage to the body that God has given you. Even overeating and getting fat is sinful. We are failures to be a perfect temple of God, but we should try our best.
 
I realize the dangers, but I realize also the benefits I derive from it. Pipes specifically, not cigarettes. Gross.

I don’t know that asking whether something is forbidden is an indication we already know it is. For example, I didn’t realize until a few days ago, after I’ve already received the Eucharist twice, that coffee does indeed break the Eucharistic fast. But my lack of knowledge of that didn’t tell me I already knew it was wrong.
Tobacco, smoked in a natural form not supplemented by chemical laden filters, sharpens the mind and relaxes it. G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Hillaire Belloc, and Popes Pius XI and John XXIII all smoked. It has health risks, yes, but stress related diseases have killed more than smoke. And yes, the body is a temple…and temples need incense 😉

“In Catholicism, the pint, the pipe, and the cross can all fit together.” -G.K. Chesterton
 
For that matter, Pope John XXIII was also fat. And he became a saint, as did plenty of other fat people.

I tend to follow the rules when it comes to “Eucharistic fast”. if it says “don’t eat for an hour before”, i don’t extend that to “also, don’t smoke, don’t have normal marital sex, and don’t use the Internet”. If someone else wants to “fast” from extra things, fine, but it’s a private devotion, not required.
 
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