For me it was the mid to late 70s. Smoking still lacked the stigma it began to gain in the 80s and so even people who were otherwise straight arrows could be seen as smokers. Plus, 100s were close to reaching their peak, and the idea of a 100 as a feminine cigarette was taking over. While lights were making progress, a lot of those girls were still smoking full-flavors like Salem 100s, Winston Super King, or B&H. It was not at all uncommon to see even teenage girls smoking 100s, something that is quite rare now. The other thing I can state with certainty is that I saw more mother-daughter sightings in the late 70s than at any other time, and the majority of them were involving 100s. Nirvana. Don't get me wrong, the mid to late 80s were great too -- I love the memory of all those girls with big hair and shoulder-padded outfits smoking in clubs all night long -- but the '75-'80 era gets my vote.