The untold story of Ping Pong’s role in the rise of the cigarette.  Back in the 1950s, when the average American puffed on a staggering 2,558 ciggies a year, everyone was inhaling.  How did Big Tobacco lure the country into lightning up?  By co-opting the purity of the ping pong lifestyle and perverting it in the name of Marlboro Country.  Mary Reilly, US Champion casually puffs on a Camel and proclaims “Experience is the best teacher, in playing table tennis or choosing a cigarette.”  Glowing in their neckerchiefs, a doubles combo suck on a Pall Mall as their non-smoking opponents sweat and wheeze.  A Kool smoking couple suggest their favorite brand “smooths your throat” and “clears your mind of every thought of bosses and time clocks.”