Smoking frequently occurs in Dark Shadows, mostly during the first year or so but also in later seasons. Some examples of smoking include:
Burke Devlin enjoys smoking cigarettes as does Julia Hoffman. (The actress Grayson Hall, who enjoyed smoking just as much as her character, Julia Hoffman, died in 1985 of lung cancer.) Sam Evans smokes cigarettes but can also occasionally be seen smoking a pipe. He has been known to say that he will quit smoking and drinking before continuing to drink and smoke. Many of the residents of Collinsport can be seen smoking additionally. Roger Collins is also a heavy smoker and is shown to keep cigars on hand. Willie Loomis also smokes foreign cigarettes.
Smoking was very common in 1960's culture and was viewed as fashionable, despite the health concerns related to the product which were becoming more widely known at the time. This is one of the reasons Dark Shadows is a spectacular piece of television history, supernatural elements aside; it is a perfect piece of the 1960's immortalised in videotape representing a more simple, opulent and carefree time in history.