My smoking is a little different than most. I was raised in a totally anti-tobacco, anti-alcohol home. I can't stand the smell of cigarettes, I hate the litter they leave everywhere, and I know they are ungodly hard to quit despite all the health risks.

I started smoking a pipe in my late 30's. Pipe tobacco is much better quality, smells nice, and doesn't have all the nasty chemical crap added to it that big cigarette companies do. Since pipe smoke is not inhaled, the lung cancer risk is nearly eliminated. Since pipe smokers are such a minority, there is a feeling of solidarity and brotherhood among us. Smoking for me is a relaxing habit, one which I am careful not to let grow into an addiction. I smoke low-nicotene blends, I smoke only when I feel like it, no more than 2-3 times a day, and can go for days without smoking at all if the urge doesn't strike me. I enjoy collecting pipes and choosing new tobacco blends. For me it's a form of relaxation. It has some risks, but I figure after all the nasty toxic smoke and chemicals I was exposed to during my career in firefighting, it's hardly the biggest of my worries.