Forty-five years ago, it was cool to smoke cigarettes. Children, myself included, would feel cool about smoking. There was a product called candy cigarettes at the grocery stores. I haven’t seen this product for many years. They came in a little box which had some of the names and logos of the major brand cigarettes of the era.

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I thought I was cool sucking on that candy with the little red end on the tip. I was acting like an adult.

The manufacturer was training me to feel cool about smoking, just as the big people were doing. That product helped hook me onto smoking cigarettes for more than thirty-five years. Do I blame them? No. They were in business to make a profit.

I wasn’t thinking about or looking at what was happening. People told me not to smoke. I didn’t listen. The good advice was there; I did not accept the advice.