Up In Smoke

In the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and well into the 70’s, Americans smoked. A lot. It was almost assumed that a person of age would take up smoking. It was the thing to do, even though everyone knew – even without a warning from the Surgeon General – that smoking was bad for you.
“Don’t smoke. It will stunt your growth,” our parents said. Then they would light up.
Yet, Boomers likely remember sneaking their first cigarette. I certainly do.
I was 6 years old and my side- kick Billy Richmond said he had a pack of matches if I could produce two cigarettes. When Mom wasn’t looking, I pilfered two Old Gold cigarettes from her pack. Billy and I went out in the back yard, in broad daylight and plain view, and lit up. It was like we thought we had a special force field, which would make us invisible. The fun part was striking the matches and watching them die out. Lighting and puffing on the cigarette was okay, as long as you didn’t let any of the vile stuff go down your windpipe.
Within a matter of a few puffs, Mom came to the kitchen window, somehow saw through our force field and the young felons were placed under house arrest for the weekend.
I never had the urge to smoke again until I was 17. Even then, I didn’t have any particular urge, but my friend Dave Gladwell started smoking. Now I figured I had to smoke, to keep pace with my pals.
This time Mom was smoking Kent’s, and I borrowed one, lit it when nobody was around and deliberately inhaled. I was nauseous and dizzy for about a half hour, but I kept at it until I could smoke in front of my friends without turning green or hocking up a bit of lung. Smoking, at least for this for Boomer, had a lot to do with looking cool, and appearing to be a young adult instead of a dorky kid.
A few years later, my cigarette consumption was up to a couple packs a day when I decided they really were bad for you. I quit cold turkey over 40 years ago and have never had the inclination to resume the habit.
But sometimes I miss the old cigarette ads and jingles.
Like L.S.M.F.T. – “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco”. And we all knew that, “Luckies Taste Better: Cleaner, Fresher, Smoother”. And perhaps you can still recall: “Be Happy, Go Lucky”?
And how about these famous ad campaigns?
“Outstanding. And They Are Mild” (Pall Mall).
“I’d Walk a Mile for a Camel”
“Viceroy Has a Thinking Man’s Filter…. And a Smoking Man’s Taste.”
“Call For Philip Morris”
“Winston Tastes Good, Like a Cigarette Should”
“Should a Gentleman Offer a Lady a Tiparillo?”
“Us Tareyton Smokers Would Rather Fight Than Switch”
“Salem: Take a Puff. It’s Spring- time”

And my personal favorite:
“More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette”

There was a time in America, you see, when cigarette makers hawked their products the same as other businesses and there was a time when the U.S. military issued cigarettes to the troops.
“Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em,” the sergeant barked out when his squad was “at ease.”
But today, according to the gruesome warnings on cigarette packs, if a wisp of cigarette smoke from across the street somehow finds its way into your nostrils, you will die a violent death in a matter of minutes, along with all your pets and your mailman. Well, that may be a little extreme, but Americans are certainly well versed about the genuine dangers posed from using tobacco.
Consider that in 1955, anyone 6’ tall was a basketball forward, and sometimes the center on the team. Today, teams have guards bringing the ball up court at 6’8”. Our parents were sure right about one thing: Smoking stunted our growth.