He stated that the priests "smoked and drank like gentlemen," implying that Poe smoked and drank with them, but he did not specify whether they smoked pipes or cigars. Poe may have chosen to be discreet about his own smoking habits because of their association with depression and suicidal thoughts. He was very sensitive about such things and would have wanted people to understand him better before judging what kind of person he was. But the fact is, we just don't know. What we do know is that he wrote some great poems about it!