I sure wouldn't attempt to associate pipe smoking with health benefits,
except perhaps for stress reduction and that only anecdotally. However, over
the holidays, we went to visit friends who were keeping their grandkids who
by chance came down with the horrible chest congestion and cough, in one
case, and projectile vomiting on the other. Just the usual kid stuff, and
I am so glad they pulled through it soon (we heard later). My wife who is long
past her Camels and Galois habit caught the chest bug and fought it for two
weeks. I patiently waited for my turn, but somehow slipped by (not to jinx
the deal here, I hope). Puffing a bowl or two most days, and as a break from
the holiday jabber, stepping outdoors for a pipe break. Probably just a
coincidence, but those tricky little varmint bugs may have lost their resistance
to baccy fumes as the population has dropped the habit. No promises,
not even a folk hypothesis here. Just an interesting observation. Incidentally,
I re-started pipe smoking, moderately I would say, as a stress relief when my
wife was in rehab after hip surgery. Bourbon seemed an impediment to getting
up and doing business for the household and her as she recovered. A long slow
smoke on the front porch after dark with Nightcap helped significantly, with
stress and mood.