How to Blow Smoke Rings

Blowing Traditional Smoke Rings

Partially inhale the smoke. Keep the smoke in your throat, not just in your mouth. This may take some getting used to. It may cause you to cough.

Move your tongue toward the back of your throat. With your mouth closed, draw your tongue back, keeping it pointing down toward the bottom of your mouth so that the smoke moves away from your lips.

Shape your mouth into an "O" shape. At the same time, stick your lips out as if you were making an "ooo" sound (like in the word 'boot'). The circle should be as big as you can comfortably make it. Don't stress too much - leave room for movement. You will look rather ridiculous to everyone else, until they realize you're about to blow their minds.

Push small amounts of smoke out. The best way to describe how to do this is by the sound you make when you choke slightly, by contracting your glottis and pushing the air through your lips. You will feel pressure and then a quick burst of smoke, but your vocal chords should not be used. The exhale should only be a guttural whisper, if anything. Try to push a small amount of air out of your lower throat without taking a breath and without moving your lower jaw. Once you master this technique, the rings should come easier. Keep your lips steady as you're pushing the small bit of air out of your mouth. This is the toughest part of blowing smoke rings. Make sure your tongue is far back in your mouth, you have enough smoke to form a ring, and enough breath to push the smoke out.

Adding Spin and Speed to Smoke Rings

After you master the basic technique, try to blow rings with backspin. As you feel the smoke leaving your lips, push the tongue forward, still keeping it pointing down. Don't bring the tip of your tongue up above your teeth, or it will interfere with the smoke ring. Think of your tongue like a conveyor belt. At the same time, bring the lower jaw slightly but rapidly upward. Tuck your lips inward slightly, but rapidly. This will put a "back-spin" on the smoke, helping the ring stay tight. This should create a very beautiful, thick ring of smoke.

To make your O's travel faster and farther, try to incorporate a speedy tongue push along with a rapid jut of your jaw. These two motions should be the last motions of blowing an O, meaning that they should be the motions that push the O from your lips. The difference between this technique and adding spin is that for this technique, you're pushing your jaw forward; in the spin technique, you're pushing your jaw up. Try to keep the tip of your tongue placed behind your lower front teeth at the gum line at all time, and try to only push with the middle of your tongue. The hardest part to master about this technique is the jaw motion. You pretty much have to figure it out on your own. This technique takes the most practice, but once you master it you will be the master of shooting those O's, and will be capable of shooting O's that seem to continue to drift until disturbed.

Use your lips to affect the distance traveled by smoke rings. If you quickly curl your lips after you close and open your glottis, the ring will travel faster. The further in you curl your lips, the faster and farther your smoke ring will go. Don't curl too much or too soon, however. Timing is everything. If you constrict the opening too soon, you may end up with smaller rings than you want.

Quick Methods for Beginners

Blow smoke rings with a light tap of the cheek. This is considered "cheating" by some, but it's an easy and effective way to blow small smoke rings without needing to master the throat technique. Gather smoke in your mouth, but don't inhale. Form your lips in a small "ooo" shape. Using your tongue and mouth to blow some smoke out slowly and steadily, flick or tap your cheek repeatedly. For each flick of the cheek, you'll get a mini-ring! Do this in a steady stream of taps or space the taps out with breaks in between.

Use the tongue-push method for smoke rings. You are basically using the tongue to push smoke out of the mouth without "blowing" at all. Curl your tongue back toward your throat while letting the tip rest on the bottom of the mouth, so that your tongue makes an upside-down "U" shape. Use the flat surface of the tongue to quickly push the smoke out of the mouth. Do this by dragging the tip of the tongue across the bottom of your mouth while keeping the upside down "U" intact. Rings produced this way are small and don't last very long, but are very easy to make.

Use a cellophane wrapper to get smoke rings. An alternate method (e.g. cheating) is to burn a hole in the cellophane wrapper in your cigarette pack. After inhaling smoke, blow it into the hole. Gently tap the wrapper on side without a hole. A smoke ring will appear.