How old (or young)?

tim12string

Ok, confession time. Kids, especially boys get curious early, right? So, how old (or young) were you when you had your first pipe and/or cigar. Whether you had permission or not, or whether you got caught or not.  I'll confess first.  I smoked one of my Dad's pipes, the whole thing, without getting sick, when I was 9.  I think he knew I had but technically, I didn't get caught.  I was 12 when I tried my first cigar.  Again, didn't get sick, and Dad didn't confront me, but I'm sure he knew that time.

Simple

My first cigar was when I was 21. A cohiba I smoked with my cousin. My first pipe is at 37. A bowl of half and half in a mm.

thebadgerpiper

My first pipe was when I was 28 years old. Never tried anything else beforehand, and I'm still just a pipe guy. While I was interested in pipes since I was a kid, I waited until I decided it was time to pick up pipe smoking.

Saintbubbles

When I was 21 some friends and I bought a few King Edwards cigars at a truck stop and smoked them in their diner. Smoked up joint pretty bad and pissed off some people but we didn't care. I went to the County Squire a couple days later and bought my first proper cigar. I don't remember what it was but I loved it.

johnscs

I was curious at a very early age. By early adolescence, I was more than curious - I was determined to sample a pipe or cigar at the first opportunity. I first tried mild tip cigars (Tiparillos, Muriel Air Tips, Middletons) when I was 14 or so. 

I think I enjoyed the slight thrill of smoking a little cigar while a teenager more than I liked the smoking experience itself. I was sure there had to be something more to cigars and pipes than what I was getting from the occasional Tiparillo or Middleton. The pipe and cigar smokers I knew (grandpa, occasionally my dad, a few family friends) smoked for the pleasure of it, not at all because of an addiction. I got very interested in trying a pipe. I had always loved the scent of pipe smoke and figured the taste should be pretty good, too. 

First pipe I smoked was my dad's; first tobacco was Sir Walter Raleigh. I was 14. I didn't take to it right off, partly due to the condition of the pipe. I cleaned the pipe really well afterward and kept at it until I could smoke a whole bowl without letting it go out. I returned the pipe, so nobody knew. ;-)  I liked it enough to get my own pipe (bought it on the pretense of buying a gift - partly true, as the gift was for me). 

I loved breaking in that pipe and smoking different tobaccos in it (Amphora, Borkum Riff, CB). It was a challenge to smoke a bowl without somebody finding out, but I liked it too much to hold off until I got older. I somehow managed to smoke pipes through my high school years without getting caught. A friend of mine got into pipes. His dad was okay with it, so I could smoke a bowl or two when we'd hang out at his house. My first term in college, I smoked whenever I wanted, so I quit hiding it. It turned out to be no big deal when I smoked my pipe in front of my family. 

Philip

23. A guy I can hardly remember.

Charles

My first pipe was at age 15.  It was my dad's pipe.  My mom had a fit but my dad was fine with it.  Found out in later years that he was about the same age when he first smoke a pipe.  Bought my first Dr. Grabow when I was 17. 

Smoked my first cigar at age 18.  Not sure if it was a Phillies or an El Producto as both were quite popular in my neighborhood.  Never got sick on either pipe or cigar  but of course, got teased a lot since cigarettes were the "cool" thing at the time and pipes and cigars were something that "old men" smoked.  Those old men smoked since they were young and new a good thing when they saw it!

Smoked cigarettes when I was in the Marines and continued for twenty five years before switching back to cigars and pipes.

judandhispipe

18, when I went off to college. My folks did not smoke.

Topaz75

My grandfather didn't want me to start smoking cigarettes, so he gave me a few of his pipes when I was 16. No one seemed to have a problem with it, since back in those days (1960s), almost everyone in my family smoked. I still have a couple of those pipes, although I haven't used them in about 40 years. Perhaps it's time to break one of those out.

motie2

Age 18, freshman year of college. I walked into the dorm, saw other guys and their pipes, Q.E.D.

Woodsman

I had a Havatampa Jewel when I was 12, They cost a nickel which was the Deposit you got for a large Coca Cola bottle. I started smoking a pipe with parental permission at 15.

pwkarch

16 here....junior year in high school. Medico pipe and Cherry Blend. Started adding cigars to my lifestyle by 18 and when I went into the Navy Ciggs joined in the race. I smoked Ciggs for over 10 years and one night just decided to quit cold turkey and never looked back as I devoted my tobacco passion to my Cigars and Pipes. I think I might be in another formulative stage here as I have not touched my collection of premium cigars in over 2 or 3 months.They are however in a very protected and in a comfortable climate.

PappyJoe

19 for pipe and cigars aboard ship. Never smoked cigarettes

xDutchx

I had my first pipe at the age of 10, when my family went on vacation in Gatlinburg during the summer. I was supposed to be a ceremonial calumet, intended for display purposes only, but I only had to admire it so many times, before I had to christen her.

I had my first premium cigar at the age of 21. I purchased it from a small tobacco shop in our local mall, called Tobacco Road. It was a Punch Maduro Churchill if I remember correctly.

Hiker007

A cheap cigar in my teen years. Then started smoking cigarettes when I was 20, my soon to be wife said she would dump me if I smoked, so I stopped. We have been married 22 years and the last year I started smoking cigars. This past Christmas she gave me my first pipe. Now I smoke both pipes and cigars a few times a week.