Why "Mad Men" makes my friend sad

A friend of mine has been watching the show Mad Men recently and he has found that the show makes him sad. The show does not make him sad because it is a bad show, in fact he really likes the show. No, it makes him sad because of the era in which the show takes place.

Mad Men takes place in the sixties. In the sixties, people were less concerned with people breaking into their homes or stealing their cars. But most importantly, at least to my friend, smoking was a social norm. If you watch Mad Men, you will see almost all of the major characters smoking. In addition to that, all of the smokers are smoking in their offices, their homes, restaurants, etc. These days it is nearly impossible to find a public place where smoking is allowed outside of a designated smoking area that is located a decent distance from where you're working or sitting. Also, more and more movies and TV shows are not allowing their characters to be shown smoking because it is believed that it sends the wrong message to their viewers (Mad Men escapes this because it is a period drama on a cable network).

While I don't smoke, my friend does and he smokes almost as heavily as the characters on the show. So for him, watching Mad Men makes him nostalgic for a time that he may not have lived in, but wishes that he had and that makes him sad.