> I'm pretty sure medical science would say she is smoking because she's addicted. Maybe. How many cigarettes a week would be needed for that assessment? Becau

> I'm pretty sure medical science would say she is smoking because she's addicted. Maybe. How many cigarettes a week would be needed for that assessment? Because I'm pretty sure she's not nursing a pack-a-day habit. I suspect that avoiding heavy labor is just as likely to reduce her heart attack chances. For that matter, a healthy balanced diet would likely do even more to help. And where is she supposed to work? Let's see, poor education, limited access to bathing facilities, history of health problems, well into the age range where the college educated tech industry folks on HN complain about ageism and the difficulty of getting hired. Oh, and in a region of the country that's suffered from massive job and industry loss. I'm sure things will improve as soon as she stops smoking.