Yes, life and health are quite the puzzle, Scoto. I'm your age, give or take, and a chain smoker of unfiltered hand rolled cheroots since the age of 14. That's an 80 per day habit
over 56 years. I recently had my once a decade physical, full blood works and all that jazz. Results came in and I fronted my doctor expecting to hear the worst and a lecture on the evils of smoking (which is true enough of the latter and I don't deny it). Instead, he said, and I quote: "S, you have the results comparable to a 17 year old boy and I could only dream of receiving such results." Said doctor is 10 years my junior.
Meanwhile, for some years now I've been getting calls, almost on a month basis, about some friend or acquaintance that has died - mostly non-smokers, but partial to the booze. I have been tea total all my life.
And then there was my grandfather, a chain smoker like me, but never seen sober. He died aged 98.
Life is quite the lottery of genetics.That aside, I remember posting here on HC 3 years ago and since, that the Pigouvian tax on tobacco would spawn a new crime wave of illegal imports and cartel violence. It was a no brainer outcome. No doubt the tax was a thought bubble from an anti-smoking politician/public servant blind to the criminal ramifications.
