Hacking coughs punctuate the soundtrack throughout, making the film’s propaganda purpose clear from the start. We follow a group of children trying to find out why the various adults in their lives smoke, and what the attractions are considering what to them are obvious drawbacks. Indiscriminate smoking “looks funny to us now”, says the narrator, but The Smoking Machine’s own footage of people casually smoking in cinemas, cafés and on public transport must seem equally bizarre to today’s kids.

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