That’s true about the synthol. Smokers do have a reduced life expectancy, but they generally live past 40. Unless they get an arterial blockage which goes to the brain and have a stroke. I had some of them caused by the mechanical heart pump. Smokers are also more prone to hardening of the heart chambers leading to heart attack. It’s called cardiomyopathy. I had dilated cardiomyopathy but it was due to a genetic mutation. Cancer is also caused by genetic mutation. Unfortunately, products like tobacco and sugar cause genetic damage. That’s why smoking also causes cancer.
Your Dad would find it harder to quit than you would, for sure.
In my country, it used to be legal to buy cigarettes at 16. Now it’s 18. And if you look younger than 25, the seller must ask for ID. My sister kept getting asked for ID when she was over 21, because she looked young and was short. I had friends who could buy alcohol at 15 (legal drinking age 18) because they looked older.
Kids at school here can buy the illegal imported tobacco (it’s illegal to sell it anyway so they don’t care about the age thing). They also buy illegal imported vapes. Same problem- the imported products are brought in from developing countries with all sorts of additives that aren’t allowed in Australia. A few years ago a bunch of local high school kids attacked a vape dealer, stole his vapes and carved a “joker smile” on his face. I’m guessing it was a “run through”- a raid on a dealer’s house by “customers” or rivals. Drug dealers tend to hide their stash and cash in washing machines, freezers and under floorboards/behind wall panelling. Your Dad’s in law enforcement right? I bet he knows where dealers hide their stash in Italy. The different architecture and home layouts might mean different hiding spots.
So making cigarettes and vapes more expensive and harder to get gas limited the supply but created other social and criminal issues. The illegal tobacco and vape trade is run by criminal syndicates.