From ages 17-26, I was a casual smoker as well. I'd probably buy 3 packs a year. I can't do it anymore, because of a mostly benign common type of arrhythmia that I have. Even smoking a few times a week, it was so hard for me to give that up, because I enjoyed it so much. There was a few times that I quit for a few months, and had to go back, because I missed it. I haven't smoked anything in about two years. The first year I missed it, but haven't missed it at all for a year, which is good.
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' -Isaac Asimov-
