When I was 15 it would have been 1960, the danger to health was not known and it was a case of ‘doing the adult thing’ plus of course, peer pressure.
Cutting right back on sugar, after a Type 2 diabetes scare, that seemed very much like giving up smoking was. The craving for sugar or any craving is in the mind, that tells the body what is needed so that is what you do. When I was informed that sugar is eight times as addictive as cocaine that hardly seemed possible. It definitely is addictive though in that it’s a ‘pleasure drug’ recognised as that by the mind’s pleasure receptors. Like smoking it’s not easy to give up sugar but like smoking the benefits are certainly well worth it if you can achieve that.
I’m with you. I took a few non-inhaling puffs of tobacco when I was young and I was even offered (pressured actually) to “shoot up” heroin but I resisted. I did suck on a few splifs however but I couldn’t see any reason to carry on with it. When my best friend and I went through our respective divorces during the same period we did get inebriated every night for a week but then I dropped out and left him to it. I have nothing more to add.
It’s was known Baz the dangers of smoking had been known since the 1940-50s propaganda from the tobacco industry opposed these findings
Both my parents were non smokers ,no one in my immediate family smoked and I was never pressured by my peers .
I can remember lectures in schools in the sixties complete with pictures of black lungs etc .
Maybe it was the fact I didn’t know about the dangers, it definitely wasn’t publicised as it is nowadays. My father smoked but didn’t drink alcohol, smoking wasn’t discouraged by him in the way alcohol was. As I mentioned I smoked but have almost always been teetotal. Maybe if my father had not smoked then neither would I have done so.
During my teens I observed that both my parents were having considerable difficulty in giving up smoking. It seemed obvious to me not to start. I have never regretted that decision.
Smoking, firearms, violent films, and pornography ought all to be banned. I am guilty of “using” one of them and I’d be better off if it were banned and done with.
Mr M the most gentle of men likes watching horrible films on netflick .
Some were vaguely ok like Game of thrones and Outlander .
But he has progressed to worse ones
Ie the walking dead and The punisher .So yesterday I was pleased to see he was watching some interesting stuff re the Knights Templar
But alas in two ticks it changed into violence and worse I see it has umpteen episodes
Knightfell
So I made him sit through the puissance event of the International Horse Show .
Further strictures maybe in order -Dressage today
