I looked in the dictionary and found the answer

Quote:

hobbies plural An activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure her hobbies are reading and gardening.

To which I added: his hobbies are smoking a pipe

I'm not sure if your post is intended to be informative or inquisitive.

But regardless...I would say pipe smoking is considered a "hobby" because, like all other truly worthwhile endeavors, there really is no good reason for doing it other than because you enjoy it.

But when we say PAD and TAD, the "D" stands for "disorder" which , in this case, would imply a compulsion, not a mere hobby!!

Im with misterE, if I admit this is a hobby I may not be able to continue the excuse that I "HAVE TO HAVE" that pipe.

I asked this question because I was curious why smoking a pipe qualifies as a hobby.
A hobby, in my mind, has a more noble implication than just smoking a pipe.
Does anyone call cigar or cigarette smoking a hobby?
If you buy a pipe and smoke tobacco are you a hobbyist?
If you clean your pipes every week are you a hobbyist or just compulsive?
When I think of hobbies building model airplanes, woodworking, gardening come to mind.
Perhaps my problem is simply that I want a hobby and pipe smoking is all I have.
Bub

Maybe it falls under the category of "lifestyle",,,,

Maybe looking at it too closely involves some self evaluation,,,

I do a lot of stuff that I guess would be considered hobbies to most people. They aren't to me.

I was a professional musician for many years of my life (violinist in a number of small time groups and orchestras, then later guitar/singer in a relatively well known local band back east). I don't anymore, aside from my odd little folk/gospel/jam band duo I play in here in Tulsa. Music fits the hobby description now, but I'll never view it like that.

I draw and paint all the time. I do cartoons and satire. It's a hobby under the definition but my one buddy (who writes a big chunk of them) and I are working on getting them published as a book. No longer a hobby to me.

Same friend and I are in pre production on a web series, short comedy stuff about law school and working in court. Silly and fun, but not really a hobby to me.

I taught myself to hybridize plants. Have a number of orchids etc that I have been working on for quite a while. I guess that's a true hobby, at least in my mind.

Pipe smoking was a hobby for about 2 weeks. Then it became, well, what it became. Now I have a whole little closet devoted to the tobacco collection, boxes stacked, pipe racks and I obsessively troll ebay estates. It's even to the point where I'm figuring out what I need to start carving pipes without demolishing the bank account. My buddies have started to just roll their eyes when I rave about a new pipe or tobacco.

To actually answer the question, and to reiterate what has already been said, it depends on your perspective. Also, it's a question of degree.

Put it this way: If you actually get riled up and concerned over the potential of a serious tobacco tax on our pipe blends (or banning of internet sales) and say to yourself "Geez, I better start buying pounds"... It's not a hobby anymore.

I say it's an interactive hobby. Collecting pipes is more complicated than collecting coins or stamps. The pipe should please you on multiple levels. It should be chosen to please aesthetically, as well as a on a performance level. Things like coins and stamps will fill a hole in a collection, but there is no functionality beyond that (unless you get desperate for a Snickers bar, and that rare Indian Head nickel is the only thing you can feed into the vending machine). A well chosen and well maintained pipe will retain some value, and may even appreciate in value, and you can't say the same for cigarettes, or a half smoked cigar. Choosing blends to smoke, as well as cleaning the pipe are simply rituals of the hobby, and can bring satisfaction, like maintaining a classic auto.

Some of you may remember Tom Mann one of the first pro bass fishermen that revolutionized bass fishing using plastic worms. Once during an interview he made a statement with his slow southern drawl something to the effect of "Bass fishing is my hobby and my bidness too!" For some reason that's always stuck in my mind as a testament of his philosophy of life's pleasures and rewards.

Jim...having too many hobbies/interests/activities to sort or define