RPG ,
You asked for guidance so I'm gonna give it to you !
You did not mention smoking anything besides a pipe so I am gonna assume that you are not now a smoker . I am and have been for over 50 years so I feel qualified to say what I'm gonna say ,.....Ready ??
Don't start .
I enjoy it but it's killing me and it is such a large part of my life and has been for so long that I have not been able to completely quit . I quit a 4-5 pack a day (Camels , Luckys ,Home Runs , and Chesterfields) habit about 15 years ago and I mostly smoke my pipes on rare occasion anymore but I still smoke 10 Corona sized cigars a day . I got stage2 Copd , 2 leaky valves in my heart and 40 % blockages in my chest and 60 % in the arteries in my neck . On top of this I have two fine young sons that watched me smoke all of these years and now have taken to it themselves . If you are 80 years old and wont smoke very often find a tobacco shop that specializes in pipes and have them show you the right way to load and smoke your pipes . If you are still a young man with good lungs and especially if you have impressionable young children ,......Throw them away ! I started with cigaretts at the ripe old age of 7 and the pipe and cigars at 15 . Don't be dumb as a 7 year old .
Eddie