I don't think it's a secret at all. Everyone who lights up often says "These things are gonna kill me" and everyone who slurps down their daily Big Mac knows "this can't be good for my heart".
It's a trade off. I think any of us would choose to live like a king until 80, instead of a pauper until 100. Everything else falls in between that.
As far as social security, I don't worry a bit about that. Our nation's economists are very good at making the boat stay afloat. yes, our kids will pay more than we did for our folks. But hey, we birthed em. They can live with it. And, hopefully with the US firms setting up camp in mid east oil regions, our tax dollar earnings from that will skyrocket and we'll hold down china (send enough oil our way that their economy cannot grow as fast as it could).
Team USA always wins out. Ask the other 350 nations of the world who's top dog.