Why smoke a pipe?

[sablebrush52]

I enjoy the whole business of puttering around with my pipes, prepping packing and smoking, cleaning. What first drew me to the pipe was the aroma, and what keeps me drawn to it are the flavors. There is no other form of smoking that offers the sheer variety of flavors available to the pipe smoker. I'm not much for nicotine and most of what I smoke is pretty mild in that department, Nicotine and flavors are not the same thing.

Add to that the beauty of a finely made pipe and the sense of partaking in a long tradition.

 

[disinformatique]

Pipe smoking helped me break my addiction to cigarettes. In 5 years I have gone from 10-30 cigarettes a day to 1-2 bowls a week. My lungs thank me very day, and because of pipe smoking I might not develop COPD in my later years.
I have made more friends, interacted with more people AFTER I took up pipe smoking at the age of 35 than I ever had before in my life. Pipe smokers are a unique community. I may not meet all of my friends from the pipe community in but they are just a message away. I have received gifts and advise from people wise beyond my years. I don't think there's any country where we do not have a pipe smoking friend we can message or ask for recommendation on their favorite pipe or blend, their hobbies, their native culture and what not.
It might be a clunky system on pipesmagazine, but my inbox usually has a message or two to brighten my day. I have had help in my down days by reading those messages.
So yes, why not smoke a pipe?
Cheers,

Chris :puffpipe: