Some people can smoke all their lives and it does not seem to affect them. They live to a ripe old age and they die from something not related to smoking.
The answer I believe is that we do not know. What I do know is that these people do not represent the norm. It is a complex interaction of factors that contribute to the effects of smoking and these include lifestyle and genetics.
Just because your father lived to a ripe old age and was not affected by smoking does not mean the same thing will happen to you. You may have the same genes but there are all sorts of other factors that can affect if you are going to be affected by your smoking.
One of the biggest factors that I believe contribute to the effects of smoking is your lifestyle. In the past, there was more physical activity, people socialised more and in general were not as obese as we are now.
Look at our lifestyles now. We are more stressed, life is a much faster pace, less exercise and more food and drink is available to us. In other words, on the whole we are not as healthy. This I believe is a huge factor in contributing to the effects of smoking. It’s a huge factor in the affect it has on our genes and their expression.
As I have said earlier, a person who has lived to a ripe old age despite smoking cigarettes is the exception rather than the norm. just because your father or some other relative was not affected by smoking does not mean that you will be the same.
The norm is that smoking reduces your life expectancy and exposes you to horrible ways to die. Don’t take a chance, it makes sense to quit smoking and improve your chances of having a life of vitality and longevity.