I remember reading somewhere
that cigarettes were added to
service members’ rations to
curb hunger. I’m old enough
to remember most all of the
commercials. Tareyton, Salem,
L&M, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall,
Marlboro. Lost both my father
and mother to the effects of
smoking. Both died of heart
attacks.
That is true, even in the 1970’s in the navy, smoking was ok, even encouraged. I finally kicked the habit many years later aftet returning to civilian life.
I was on a Boy Scout camping trip in the early 1960’s. One of our assistant scoutmasters had been an army officer in
the second world war. He somehow managed to bring home a K ration pack. He opened it while we watched. Among other things that I don’t remember was a can of cheese, and several cigarettes. He ate the cheese, and smoked the cigarettes.