Dennis Prager, whom I admire greatly, has an offbeat column today singing (and justifying) the pleasures of smoking a cigar or pipe once a day. It's worth a read. Embedded in the article is the following choice paragraph:
We live in the Age of Stupidity. This new age has been induced by widespread college education and widespread secularism -- Psalms is entirely accurate: "Wisdom begins with fear of the Lord" -- which explains, for example, why only well-educated secularists came to believe that there were no innate nonphysical differences between men and women.
In Prager's view, the dangers of smoking a pipe or cigar in the moderation he reccomends is quite minimal or nonexistent and can't hold a candle to the pleasures it affords. It's an entertaining and thought-provoking read.