The increase in lung disease is not noticeable in the sense that you could not connect cigarettes and lung disease without scientifically studying it. In the 1920's, you'd find claims cigarettes helped the lungs.

I'm not certain about the direct shoe-body-misalignment thing. But I know physical therapists can measure habitually shortened or stretched muscles in people and this is a condition that will often cause physical problems as a person gets older even the person doesn't notice anything at the moment of measurement.

See: http://www.amazon.com/Muscles-Function-Florence-Peterson-Ken... The standard reference for physical therapists.

And do people get up votes these days on HN for taring any opponent with over-the-top New Age rhetoric?