And I did smoke. In high school. I succumbed to the need to look cool, and be a rebel. The largest driver was my parents, who both smoked multiple packs a day. All of us kids in that house stole packs from them. While my mother was on her death bed from metastasizing lung cancer from a life time of smoking (she said she started at age 7), she knew we were stealing packs, and said nothing about it because she started smoking so young. I'd like to smack the **** out of her for that, but hindsight. I noticed my skin changing, and other health changes, and most of which the loss of the ability to run, and ride my bike like I used to in elementary school. I quit. I dropped it like a rock. I never touched it again, until college when a prof used to smoke in his office. I found myself sitting there, fumigating, and feeling like I was back at home, but then started finding ways to not stop at his office. He was my advisor for a few years. AWKWARD... Smoking is disgusting. It's the only product, so far, that has the intended consequences of killing the user. The companies have spent decades developing a more addictive cigarette. They WANT people to be addicted. And they will do everything they can to make sure people get that way. Candy 'cigarettes'? I remember those. 'Joe Camel', and his cartoons? Yeah, get 'em hooked young...
And tax payers largely support the industry. Same with the oil conglomerates, and so many other industries.
We are 'born to shop', and expected to be obedient consumers. No questions, no push back. And the pharmaceutical industry is almost as bad. 'Born to shop'...
