Well, for my particular situation, the advantage was that I wasn't using my lungs to absorb the nicotine, but rather the lining of my mouth. That said, people that smoke pipes a lot can get really nasty cancers like throat, esophogeal and mouth cancer. I don't want to be flip about cancer, as many people in my family have been affected by it (most recently the mother of the cousins I'm closest to) but it seemed to me (wrongly) that by not using my lungs for a bit, I was giving them a chance to recover a little bit. I was also experiencing lung infections fairly frequently, so pipes were good because I could still get my nicotine and not hack up grams of green, chunky goo.

Basically, a cigarette is a very direct, no-nonsense way of getting nicotine. It's fairly quick. Even smokes that take a long time, like American Spirits only take about 10 minutes or less. I could go through a Camel Light (oops, I mean Blue) in about 2 minutes or less if I was in a hurry. Also, the tobacco is mised with chemicals to make it burn more evenly, as is the paper. Then there's the filter and ashed to deal with. Not to mention the smell. Essentially, it's an entirely disposable system. Cigarettes also have the advantage of creating opportunities to socialize often, during smoke breaks.

Pipes are a more relaxed experience. You need to take a bit of time, as you need to drag out the tobacco pouch, and the tamping tool and then if you're using matches it can take a bit if it's windy. A pipe is leisurely. A fully packed bowl can take an hour or so to smoke. Then there's the scraping of the ash, etc. It's a process and it's clear why in fast-paced American life why it fell out of favor with people seeking ever more streamlined experiences. Pipe smoking can be social, but really it comes down to individual preferences in equipment and tobacco. It also smells quite nice to many people in a way that cigarettes definitely do not. Pipe tobacco is cured and cut a bit differently and tends not to contain things like additives that increase the rate of absorption, which are generally pretty bad for you.

Cigars are something else. Now, people drill holes into the draw ends of cigars in case one doesn't want to smoke the whole thing in one sitting. Me, I prefer to get it all done in one. A cigar is a commitment, particularly in a world that is (justifiably) increasingly smoke phobic. The outsides are tobacco leaves, not paper and the tobacco is generally not blended, the way cigarette tobacco tends to be. Pipe tobacco can be blended as well. Anyway, a cigar is to a cigarette the way a beautiful rib-eye is to a McD's hamburger. It's meant to be savored and often, paired with strong liquor, like Scotch. Scotch tends to have complementary flavor ranges for cigars. It's worth noting that the cliches for cigars are handing them out on significant occasions, like births or wedding announcements. Freshly lit, cigars smell great (to me). Waking up after a night of cigar smoking with cigar stench all over, is not so great. When I had really long hair, I would make sure to have a shower when I woke up after having a cigar, otherwise I'd be bothered by it all day. Cigar smoking can be individual, but often it's a more social thing. A note about choosing cigars: choosing a cigar is all about personal preference and taste. Never believe anyone that insists that because some cigars are expensive, they must therefore be good. In fact, I would extend that to almost everything.

Much as I absolutely adore smoking, I am concerned about my health and so have switched to an e-cigarette, only occasionally have a couple smokes or a cigar. As I mentioned, perhaps I will take up pipe smoking again on an occasional basis as the process intensive experience of pipe smoking is likely to limit indulgence by virtue of being time consuming. I guess I still have hookah/nargila sessions once in a while, but right now it's not readily available and I don't know who has my old nargila, so e-cigs for me.