Originally Posted by
Victim of Love
I suspect he quit smoking many years ago. He's even stated in a few interviews how much smoke bothers him and I remember reading a comment he made a few years back about how much he dislikes having to walk thru a casino in Vegas because of the smokers. Sadly I've seen a few photos of Ben in recent months where he's smoking and I've wondered if it's a bone of contention between the Schmit men. I would say it's probably a pretty safe bet that Ben doesn't smoke around his dad.
As for the timeframe and number of years he may have smoked, I'll throw this out there. My dad quit smoking 20 years before he died of lung cancer and my grandmother was smoke-free for over 40 years before she was diagnosed with oral/neck/throat cancer. In both cases the doctors said it was doubtful (but not absolute) that their prior smoking history had anything to do with it. Dad worked in an R&D lab for a vinyl manufacturer for years and his cancer was more likely attributable to the chemicals and toxins he was exposed to. The flip side is the high number of lung cancer cases caused by second-hand smoke. Keep in mind that venues allowed indoor smoking for years and years and everyone in the confines of the building was exposed. Imagine being in a giant room with 30,000+ people and 50% of them are puffing away! Nowadays you can't even smoke in outdoor facilities but think of the number of shows these guys did over the years in that type of environment. Scary!