I started smoking cigars shortly after I turned 18. I then moved on to a pipe, and then a hookah, and now I smoke at least a pack of Marlboro's a day.
They teach us all our lives that it's a bad habit and all, but I grew up with an immediate family that hated smoking, and and extended family that smoked like chimneystacks. The smell of tobacco is actually kind of comforting because of that. At this point, I get nothing from the nicotine, and it's somehow a relaxation thing. I've quit for periods of up to a month, just to see if I could. But really, I just feel a lot better about a lot of things when I'm smoking. Also, they're really good during a conversation, where you have to pause and think, if only not to make a fool of yourself.