I started with nicotine at age 6 behind the hill by the railroad tracks with my neighbor and one of his dad's stolen Pall Malls.
By High School I was a confirmed non filter cigarette smoker, usually Luckies. ( Dad smoked Camels and Luckies)
Of course, as a tobacco user, and one with a limited budget, I experimented with other delivery 'systems', like cigars, pipes, snuff, and roll your own.
I mis hit on the pipe every time I tried one, when I was younger....and I rolled my own the better part of 15 or 20 yrs, seldom smoking a machine made cigarette because they were horrible tasting, harsh, and made me feel unhappy about smoking them.
So, I've quit tobacco altogether for at least one year, and sometimes 5 or more, over the years (about 8x's.), and have found that in times of stress and duress, I've returned to the nicotine for relief.
I found myself in that predicament about a year after I'd retired and became physically ill and mentally stressed and once again began to roll cigs. However, this time, I had time on my hands and the thought crossed my mind to go to the drug store and get a corn cob to smoke so that I wouldn't have to roll, or use paper.... ( ! )
Of course, I was still inhaling at the time and it took me a few weeks to find all the stuff about pipes and tobacco online and to learn that I was not getting the most out of my pipe OR tobacco.
If I hadn't discovered this community of hobby enthusiasts and learned how to smoke and enjoy tobacco without inhaling, I'd have had to face another 'quit' or stay dissatisfied with a trade off of lung damage for stress relief.
That was 7 yrs ago, and I'm now 73. I smoke a bowl right after I get up in the morning at anytime between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. and I take that out on the roadway for my first morning 'lunt'. By sunrise I usually have 'lunted' for 3 bowls and heard the birds awaken. I get my bowels going this way, my heart pumping and clean fresh air.
I don't count how many bowls I smoke during the rest of the day, but I never smoke inside, so I'm either out walking or standing (which is exercise) or on my screen porch which faces a nice easterly view of a pond and a wide variety of bird life.
I would say that smoking a pipe is beneficial to me in many ways, not the least of which is the camaraderie and mutual respect that seems inherent to the experience.
Too long? ha ha, too bad!