Optimal smoking

Tim Hartford answers the question, "So at what age could I sensibly start smoking in order to achieve sufficient pleasure to make the shortening of lifespan worthwhile??"

If you’re 20 years old and smoke in full defiance of the risks, you still have a chance to look brash, daring and just a little bit sexy. If people see you smoking at 60, they won’t realise your brilliance in taking up the habit at age 58. They’ll simply assume that, pathetically, you’ve never been able to quit.

My advice, then, is that the optimal consumption path for cigarettes is either never to start, or to start young and stop fairly quickly.

Nice, me. Still, I can't wait to take up smoking again at age 70.

Here's the link to Tim Hartford's writing, which I recommended to a friend recently. I've blogged about a post of his before.