[Destro]

I don't understand how Greeks - it seems all of them smoke - can smoke so much and still have cancer rates so low they make Americans look like they live in radioactive dumps by comparison.

Greek wine? olives? fish diet? They eat as much as a New Orleans resident and are skinnier too.

[longtermmemmory]

Would you like to know a secret? Many Greeks smoke the way any ordinary person has an occasional drink. In other words they smoke one cigaret a week or just on a rare occasion if they are out. (Not the addictive behavior the tobacco nazis would have you think.) This is obviously NOT the majority but it does add to the number of people who answer "yes" to "do you smoke?"

As for eating as much as New Orleans. My theory is the constant walking to go anywhere AND the fact that during casual debates the body gets animated and the hands go a-flapping like they are preparing for takeoff. (that and ingesting enough cafine to power a rocket to mars and back, DAILY)