I think that was the case everywhere when I was a kid (if you were a guy). It's much less common now because everyone knows the risks and everyone has seen smokers with lung cancer and heart attacks. Vaping took over for a few months, but gov was like, "nope," and promptly shut it down hard.
But ironically, a lot of people do it because they're told not to. Now it's like proving you're not afraid of death. I tried once and it felt horrible, so I don't see why people continue if it weren't for peer pressure.