I grew up in a fairly similar household but never took up smoking..which I am happy about now because if I started as a teen and kept smoking through the decades I would probably be in poor health by now. Despite not smoking I had many of your same thoughts as a teen.
I was raised by a single mother who was a heavy smoker and smoked inside the home (which was common at the time). She was smoking pretty much all the time. I didn't like it or hate it, it just seemed normal to me.
In high school I definitely noticed the cool rebellious kids were the smokers. This was actually a protective factor for me because I knew I was not cool or rebellious. I was too much of a nice boy to even think of smoking. Yet I was sort of drawn to the rebels, they were exciting to me. I was more attracted to the rebel girls than the good girls.
At this point I became more aware of my mom's smoking. I saw her smoking as being symbolic of her rebellious nature. Sure by this time she wasn't trying to make a statement, she was just a longtime hardcore nicotine addict. Yet she still had a rebel spirit. My dad told me she had a reputation as a bad girl in high school. I'm sure it wasn't just her smoking either.
I could definitely see my mom's spirit in the rebellious smoking girls at my high school. It was exciting to realize that one of those cool girls became my mother, not one of the wholesome goody two shoes types. From that point, I liked seeing my mom smoke (even if I knew it wasn't healthy for her). She was strict with me and whenever she yelled or lecture me I would notice her lit cigarette between her finger or lips...a bad girl laying the law down insisting I be good...and doing a good job at it I must say.
