Caution: Collecting art may be habit-forming.

Especially when it’s as easy as buying a pack of smokes.

A repurposed cigarette dispenser at Pi Gallery, 419 E. 18th St., vends creative masterpieces for $5 a pop.

“For a lot of people, this is their first time buying art,” Pi owner Jody Wilkins said.

The machine, from North Carolina-based Art-o-mat, is one of two in Missouri (the other is in St. Louis, and there are none in Kansas). The company has more than 80 machines nationwide, stocked with art by more than 400 artists from 10 countries.

In Pi’s machine, you can choose a handmade piece from 22 artists.

Art ranges from watercolor and mosaics to sculptures and jewelry. Each comes packaged in a carton the size of a cigarette box.

“I really love getting a new shipment,” Wilkins said. “It’s like Christmas. I open each one.”

For each transaction, half of the money goes to the artist, but the exposure is far more valuable, said Clark Whittington of Art-o-mat.

“We’re directly reaching buyers who most likely haven’t heard of these artists,” Whittington said.

Art-o-mat gets $1 from each purchase, but Whittington said its primary mission is to “communicate that people should live with art. The key point of Art-o-mat is literally getting art into the hands of the people.”