Was it high tobacco taxes that caused them to not smoke?
My Great-Grandmother lived to 93 and still worked in her garden every day.
mewzilla, I don't doubt what you say, but you need to understand that YOUR experiences only affect YOUR perceptions, and MY experiences affect MINE. My smoking family members have all lived long, healthy lives, one uncle living to 104 (he did quit smoking at 100), my grandfather died at 94 in a farm accident, my dad died at 87. None of them ever suffered any of those "smoking related" illnesses. Those experiences prove nothing. Neither do yours, except possibly a genetic difference.
The point is, law and policy should not be made based on one's personal experiences, nor should they be based on special-interest agendas or who can be made politically incorrect and therefore worthy of robbing.