whether there is a negative correlation between smoking and life expectancy

If you have tools to mitigate the risk, then you eliminate the correlation. That's the magic of modernization.

The thing about education is that it's not apolitical. You can receive an education that encourages social proclivities and biases. Conservative states produce conservative leaning academic institutions, which yield a higher rate of conservative voters even as they reward these people with degrees.

Going to BYU or Stanford or Princeton or Liberty will not turn you into a Liberal, pretty much by design. The Federalist Society is not turning out Democrats.