Good. If you're attempting to build a slightly counter-cultural, offline tightly knit social group, adding a cigar seems reasonable enough to me. And around a

Good. If you're attempting to build a slightly counter-cultural, offline tightly knit social group, adding a cigar seems reasonable enough to me. And around an active firepit, the additional smoke isn't a big thing. Practically, the reason I suggest a bit of alcohol and some cigars/pipes is to have "something to do with your hands," and something to do if you don't want to be part of the conversation at the moment. Since these events are ideally cell phone free, if a chunk of the conversation isn't interesting, or isn't something you care to participate in at the time for whatever reason, being able to sit back and focus on the pipe or cigar for a bit is a nice option. I've certainly had moments when someone is expressing a point I disagree with, where the best option is to simply let them talk and occasionally ask clarifying questions - sitting back, sipping on some whiskey, and working on a cigar makes it far easier to let them continue without feeling the need to dive into why I think they're somewhat insane, and that's half the point here - I may not agree with them, but I would like to understand where they're coming from. At this point, though, I'd view the actively countercultural aspects of a pipe/cigar as a benefit to them in your situation. But, also, seeing the UK-centric parts of the discussion here, I'm so glad I don't live over there. It sounds worse than I'd expected - 1984 was not intended to be a government handbook.