No Smoking Signs - when were they used?

[Dolphinhog 2]

When I was a young soldier in the CAF, our long haul transport was a B707 CC-137. This was in 1979, I was a enroute to a 6 mos tour in Egypt. It was like as soon as you sat down, smoke em if you got em was the secret code as before we took off it was time to get your fix in. Afterwards it was wait till the light went off, and then it was like a Casino opened up, booze, smokes, and loud talkers going OFF!

 

Fun times but way too much!

 

Dave

[ezochi 8]

18 hours ago, Ian S said:

Is smoking still allowed on some Japanese internal flights, or has that stopped now?

None allowed on domestic Japanese flights.
I still remember the Japanese guys I used to work with insisting on flying from London to Tokyo and back on JAL because it was the last airline to implement a total ban on international routes into Japan. I think that must have been around 1999.

[Polymerman 70]

I never smoked until I was drafted into the army at  22 years old. With the "advantages" offered by the military..."smoke em if you got em and if you don't keep working"  and the fact that free smokes were in the C rations I started smoking!   

My wife and I pledge to give up smoking on Valentines day 1977. I did it cold turkey. But, she didn't and It took her 5 more years to give it up using all the resources they had available at that time such as nicotine free cigarettes, and nicorette gum. 

I must say I still enjoy the smell of passer-byes smokers cigarettes.

[vadriver 247]

2 hours ago, Polymerman said:

I still enjoy the smell

rich

then you would enjoy a trip to my "hood" .................

[A340Bangla 40]

23 hours ago, dolbinau said:

Sorry not sure where else to post but for anyone that has enough life experience to actually have been around when we smoked on aircraft as part of normality, when exactly would the No Smoking Sign be turned on/off, and would this be at different times to the Seatbelt sign or would they pretty much be used at the same time?

Thanks

To answer the OP:

I started travelling on business in the the mid-70's and on European airlines, it went like this. Gear up after take off: no smoking light off, gear down before landing: no smoking light on, smoking was allowed everywhere on the plane. I used to be a heavy smoker and hated the ever-shrinking smoking areas lateron, don't remember when that started.

[Jude Bradley 659]

16 hours ago, Chock said:

Here's a fun fact about smoking on aeroplanes: You might be interested to know that in most places, the requirement for an ashtray in the toilets of airliners is usually on the MEL (minimum equipment list) to legally allow it to fly a commercial flight, even thougbh smoking is not permitted on the plane. This is because sometimes smokers will sneak to the toilet to have a cigarette. Since it's been a long time since you could smoke on an airliner, people doing this in the toilet of an airliner is kind of rare these days, but used to happen a lot. Because of this, the airlines would rather have anyone who does this, at least have an ashtray available to use, rather than them do something stupid with their cigarette butt and as a result not putting it out properly, causing a potential fire risk.

 

Reminds me of this accident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada_Flight_797 covered in one of Macarthur Job's books.

[Mace 1,926]

On 12/29/2020 at 2:49 AM, cmpbellsjc said:

A lot of the times they look at me weird and say that the whole restaurant is non-smoking or sometimes they just laugh. Probably because most of the hosts or hostess were not even alive when smoking sections were actually a thing in the US.

Smoking sections are still a thing in the U.S.  I was in a restaurant that has that within the last year.

I think the City is talking about passing an ordinance to ban smoking inside public buildings, and that would put and end to that

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

3 hours ago, Mace said:

Smoking sections are still a thing in the U.S.  I was in a restaurant that has that within the last year.

I think the City is talking about passing an ordinance to ban smoking inside public buildings, and that would put and end to that

I didn’t know that some cities in the US still have those? I remember around 15 years ago or so, after much of the US underwent the smoking restrictions in bars/restaurants, I had a connecting flight that stopped in Charlotte (I think), and was surprised that they had smoking sections of the airport still. I figured it was due to states that either grew or produced a lot of tobacco products having more lenient restrictions on smoking.

As much as I hate the smell of cigarette smoke, I absolutely loathe that skunky smell of people smoking weed. Besides smelling like a skunk secretion, it also reminds me of really bad body oder. Not to mention that the smell hangs in the air forever.

Unfortunately it seems like there’s a rush to legalize marijuana around the US and get a joint in the hands of anyone who wants one. Heck, even some cities/states are trying to make all illegal drugs legal and even have publicly run “safe” injection or drug use sites. What the heck is the world coming to? 😂😂

[charliearon 3,024]

Well, Sean, you'd be happy to know that the "safe injection sites" were duly voted down here in good ol' San Francisco.  I, also, hate the smell of burning weed, but guess too many need to be high to be happy?? 🤔  I do understand the medical need to relieve pain, in some instances.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I think some areas in the world still smoked on planes for much longer then others. As late as 2002 you could still smoke on China Airlines and in fact it was the smoking on this airline that led to crash detectives determining what brought down China Airlines Flight 611, it was the residue from the passengers smoking that led to them finding metal fatigue cracking as the smoke residue was leaking outside the aircraft

I am no longer a smoker but if I did find myself on an airliner somewhere in the world today that allowed smoking, I would do it for old times sake.

Also I think Austria is the last Western Nation that still allows smoking in Restaurants and Bars.

Edited December 30, 2020 by Matthew Kane

[n4gix 4,947]

On 12/29/2020 at 4:35 PM, charliearon said:

You'd be surprised how many get up in the middle of the night to take a wizz and have a cigarette dangling from their mouths while doing so.

And you know this how Charlie? Never mind, I guess really don't want to know! 

[regis9 4,014]

“Would you like a seat in the smoking now, or smoking later section?”

[HighBypass 2,339]

This topic reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my daughter's friends. He knew I was into aviation and flight sims. He mentioned about wanting to go on holiday somewhere far away from the UK which would involve at least a 12 hour flight (I forget his preferred destination). He said he's not keen on flying and would have to be drunk to calm his nerves prior to getting on the plane. I reminded him that airlines can refuse to allow boarding if they believe that the passenger is too drunk. "Oh well I'll have to have a "fag" or two during the flight". This young lad had such a camp way of speaking and gesturing - he definitely knew from experience the other meaning of the term "fag" apart from a cigarette . Not all gay men express themselves in such a manner; some do and he was one of them 🍻 No harm, no pack drill and we all got along like the proverbial house on fire, so don't get all 2020 offended on his behalf! Thank you.

You should have seen the drama written on his face when I told him that he wouldn't be able to smoke either.  "Oh, I'll just sneak one in the toilet then".

Err. no... The toilets have smoke detectors and should you set one of, then you're in big trouble. The plane will no doubt divert to the nearest suitable airport rather than carry on to your destination. Yes the Captain has the authority to do exactly that.. the authorities will bundle you off the plane AND you will incur the wrath of every other passenger on your long haul flight - so 300+ angry people to deal with...

He asked if I could fly him there instead! 

Good times!

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

7 hours ago, charliearon said:

Well, Sean, you'd be happy to know that the "safe injection sites" were duly voted down here in good ol' San Francisco.  

What would make me happy is for states like Washington, Oregon and California to start rounding up these people and putting them in rehab to get them off drugs. Granted, a safe place to do drug is better than having them slumming in the subway or other areas injecting themselves, but putting them into treatment centers imho would be a better alternative. From what I understand, they don’t want to put people into treatment centers in an involuntary state, even if it’s for there own good. In which case the users will continue to use until their most likely dead.

Also, I had Oregon in mind when I posted about decriminalizing hard drugs, but I’m sure Washington and California aren’t far behind with that thinking. 

 

7 hours ago, charliearon said:

 I, also, hate the smell of burning weed, but guess too many need to be high to be happy?? 🤔  I do understand the medical need to relieve pain, in some instances.

Yeah, I’m my opinion, there’s as issue when people need to either be drunk or high to be happy. I don’t have a problem with an actual need for weed when there is actually an underlying medical need for it, but I do have a problem with the expanding population of people using it for recreational purposes. 

Unfortunately the trend for weed usage has sky rocketed amoung the younger generation and minority groups. When you add the fact that these groups are becoming less educated than generations of the past and wrapped up in the weed smoking, it doesn’t bode well for their futures. It’s great for creating a welfare state but not great for a lost generation of young people who spent their youth getting high, have virtually no education and will spend their life working minimum wage jobs and/or on welfare programs. 

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

I always liked this joke:

I smoke cigars on occasion, I don’t know a lot about cigars, I went to the cigar store and the guy said, ‘What kind of cigars you like?’ and I said ‘It’s a boys?’

-Mitch Hedberg