Why do I smoke cigars and puff a pipe?

I've tried to quit smoking cigars perhaps a dozen times, primarily due to the cost, but have always found the act of smoking too enjoyable. I look forward to retrieving the cigar from my small humidor, unsleeving it, taking off the wrapper, and lighting up. With cigars and my pipe, I do not inhale the smoke, but rather just sip and mouth exhale. 

You may ask if I know that smoking cigars and pipes is harmful. Yes, there are risks of cancer, including mouth, throat, lung, and stomach. Two factors that may determine the risk of cancers is length of smoking life and the daily use. In other words, the longer and the more you smoke, the greater your risk. I don't take that lightly, but I do have that attitude of "it won't happen to me." In general, I am very healthy. I walk for an hour each day with my dog and eat relatively healthily. I don't have a smoker's cough and do not feel that my lung strength is compromised. So, I have smoked cigars for some thirty years. I started off with one every few days and grew to a peak of four cigars a day, about six months ago.

I've smoked a pipe here and there over the years, but now my pipe is my main smoking method, primarily due to the cost. Rather than $300 a month for cheap cigars, I can easily get by for a month on $75 worth of  pipe tobacco. So, as of now, I smoke one cigar per day and light my pipe about 3-4 times per day. 

I teach English, primarily online, and do all of my work on my back porch, which is covered and screened. I look forward to grading assignments outside, as I know I will accompany the task with a smoke. The two tasks have become intertwined. I also write outside. I don't think I've ever written a short story or part of a novel inside. Part of that is the smoking, as I do not smoke inside, but I just enjoy being outside when I work. 

Right now, I am puffing on my Nording Billiard pipe, smoking a blend of pressed tobacco (Peter Stokkebye). As there are hundreds of varieties of cigars, the same applies to pipe tobacco. The pressed tobacco, called flake, is denser and moister, and lasts twice as long as loose tobacco. Smoking with flake gives me an hour of enjoyment, comparable to a cigar of the Churchill size, and that's with a tiny puff every two seconds or so.

Smoking relaxes me. It gives me something to look forward to and makes my work and writing more pleasurable. As long as I can afford the tobacco, I will probably keep smoking. My pipe and cigar are like two good friends that I can count on for a good time. I'm just glad that I don't smoke and inhale cigarettes, which is much more harmful, but I do understand why so many people are addicted.