Individuals are pretty poor at making personal decisions on the basis of risks that are well-proven numerically but not tangible from personal experience. Why

Individuals are pretty poor at making personal decisions on the basis of risks that are well-proven numerically but not tangible from personal experience. Why do millions of Americans still smoke cigarettes? Do most smokers have awesome health plans and optimism about medical research so they assume that cancer treatment will be pleasant and affordable in the future? I think it's a pretty good test of how many people seriously believe cigarettes are carcinogenic. Do not tell me the incentive of a miserable premature death is not strong enough.