You may not live to be an elder, if you are a heavy smoker. It has been proven that the earlier you start smoking, the more damage it does to your lungs and the higher the likelyhood of cancer.
My father had a massive heart attack at 48 and died at 52 from a heart condition that was severely exascerbated by his heavy smoking habit. His mother died of lung cancer at 59 and my maternal grandfather died of lung cancer at 59, also (both smokers). That is not very old.
I have other relatives that have died of smoking related cancers, too, but they at least lived to be senior citizens. Still, it is not a pleasant way to die.
How do you know I am not an "elder" already? heh! Yes, I started smoking at the age of 16. I was totally active for most of my life. Every year, I go for my annual complete physical. My lungs are always clear. My Doctor knows I smoke, but when he listens to my heart and lungs, he says not a word.
Actually, I smoke a pack and a half a day. Not exactly a heavy smoker. As for cancer: I had it twice in my life! 5 years of radioactive iodine treatments which threw me into complete isolation for 5 days at a time every 6 months. Second time, I had another major surgery, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. Both times, I had a team of Doctors. They ask me if I smoked, how much, and each time, both teams told me my cancers were NOT caused by smoking and not one of them advised me to quit.
My one grandmother died at age 42. Never smoked a day in her life. My other grandmother smoked three packs of non filtered Camels a day, lived to be 86 and died from old age. My grandfathers both smoked and lived well into their late 70's.
I realize that lung cancer would not be the preferred method of death, but so far, I am one of the lucky ones. Truthfully, I believe it's generics. What is heredity. Some can do it and some can not. It just the choices we all make.