>One can get nicotine through e-cigs, patches, or gum. There's no need to inhale a bunch of things that are bad for you.

Yes. I didn't argue for nicotine consumption through smoking.

>It ruins your sense of taste, making foods bland.

I don't think smoking one cigarette a day does this. Do you have a source for that claim?

>Many people dislike the smell. And smoking just one cigarette a day requires near-superhuman willpower. It would likely become an expensive habit.

I agree that smoking pack a day is pretty expensive and unhealthy. So if someone smokes a cigarette a day and doesn't start smoking more than that, then that person is smoking a cigarette per day. Some who smoke one cigarette per day will start smoke more, some will not.