What;s wrong with kids these days?

Just a few thoughts to ponder here.....
I am a smoker, and here in Canada i pay $9.65 for a pack of 25 cigarettes, and i smoke an average of about 20 a day. I know it's not good for me and others around me, but i am an addict and that's what i do to ''fix'' my need to smoke.
No one else in my family smokes or ever has.
I had an argument with my brother about it and he forms the same general opinion as the never have smoked people out there and simply states ''just quit now, it's can't be that hard, you don't need it to live anyway, i don't need it and never have. It's just a stupid, expensive,stinky, socially unacceptable habit that will kill you.''
I told him he's right, except for understanding the addiction part of it.
He said b.s. to that.
I said ok, if he gives up his addiction for one year, then i'll give up mine.
His addiction is cars and racing. He has a pretty hot street car that runs in the high 10's in the quarter. He races it about 4 times a year, and really enjoys it. And if he isn't tinkering on it or driving it, he's watching car races on t.v. or reading magazines etc. you all know the drill.
I told him that it was a fair comparison to my addiction to smoking (from an addiction standpoint) to his addiction to cars and motorsports.
I told him go ahead, quit cars cold turkey and what i mean by that, is don't even look at a car magazine, don't watch any motorsports on t.v., don't service your own daily driver, don't work on anyone else's vehicles, let alone go to any car races or car shows for one full year. Do not even think about the subject. Cold turkey.
He said it's not the same as smoking.
I said to him well, it's a matter on your perspective. I know of a lot of people out there that think driving older cars is wrecking the planet with their pollution, let alone being noisy, unsafe (comparing to today's standards), and racing only promotes the further destruction of the planet as well as encouraging the younger generation to be irresponsible in their decisions for what's right for the community, as well as socially unacceptable in this modern age.
I also said he's right, it's not the same as smoking, but if you really look at it, it's an addiction and that's how it works.
One man's meat is another man's poison.

So, ''never have'' smokers, is this a fair comparison to addiction or am i way off base on this one?

BTW, i have read that years ago in the first world war the soldiers were encouraged to smoke because it ''made you brave''.
And smoking is still legal because the government makes a lot of money in tax revenues, they promote non smoking, but they sure don't turn down the 50%-70% taxes they collect on a pack of smokes do they? They also have no 100% PROOF that smoking WILL KILL YOU.
There are a lot of worse things in life than smoking, but i think it's in the top ten!

I wish i didn't smoke, it enslaves you. I do not promote smoking at all, but i am addicted to it and will stop smoking some time in the future, but i tell you all, you never quit addictions, you just stop. The addiction will always be there even if you are not active in it.
Just my own humble opinion,
Tom.