Most WW2 stories show soldiers carrying many packets of cigarettes and were often seen smoking. Why were so many cigarettes given during WW2 and how many were distributed?

by sammyjamez

I am not sure if this is a trope that is shown in movies and other forms of media or whether this was actually something that occurred during the war.

But most of the time, in almost every WW2 story or film that I see, there are often soldiers shown either carrying cigarettes or actually smoking them regularly.

Why was this case, if this was actually true?

Georgy_K_Zhukov

This older answer should be of itnerest.