My Dad quit smoking when I was three years old, largely because he was tired of me nagging him. It was right at the beginning of the anti-smoking PSA's on TV, and I must have watched a lot of TV. I guess I was always nagging people about smoking.
The funny thing is, and we didn't learn this until years later, Dad didn't strictly quit. But he never bought another pack of cigarettes or bummed cigs. It was just that back in those days (the late 60's - early 70's) the airlines would hand out mini packs of cigarettes for free, and he flew a lot for work. He would keep those, and used them to gradually ween himself off the smokes, but he never smoked in front of us. And the money he saved on smokes allowed us to take a nice vacation in the rockies.
When I think back on the old days (when I first started working) and how everyone had a big ashtray on their desk, it's hard to believe how much has changed.
I never smoked myself, but after all the years I spent working in bars and restaurants, and waking up the next morning with a pounding headache and sore throat, I feel like I did.
But I have to admit - smoking can look cool (if the person knows how to do it) and it looks like a nice way to pass the time.
