While waiting for the data for the Day by Day Database, I came across this rather good paragraph on smoking a pipe:

Like many other things that don’t come naturally — golf, for instance — many men have taken up pipesmoking only to abandon it out of frustration. The pipe burns hot, scorching the novice’s tongue, and won’t stay lit. The required equipment (matches for constant re-lighting, tamper, pipe cleaners), arsenal of polishing and sweetening ointments, and required regular cleaning quickly weeds out the dabblers while rewarding the happy few who were truly born to smoke a pipe. Learning to puff just enough to keep the pipe going, but without causing it to get too hot, is like learning to play the oboe, minus the music theory.