I'm not sure whether I was a sickly child but I used to suffer from frequent bouts of bronchitis. In retrospect, this wasn't surprising; I grew up in Knowle Park, in Bristol, and we were only a couple of miles from the engine sheds at St Philip's Marsh. One of my early recollections is walking to school in the fog, which smelt acrid and often had a pronounced yellow tinge.
Our GP was Dr Douglas Gawn; his white hair and lined face led me to believe that he was old but my mother later told me he was only in his 30s. He had spent time in Japanese prisoner of war camps so perhaps this was the reason.On one occasion, when I was suffering from a particularly severe bout of bronchitis and was feeling pretty miserable, I remember Dr Gawn standing at the foot of my bed and saying, "Young man - if you smoke, it will kill you."
One can argue about the timing but the message was received and understood. I've never smoked, ever. Not even once. I owe you, Dr Gawn.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/853a/5930e44c411c23b3fc2fe6889a1f5af0ea53.pdf
