• solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      just about as many people smoked as didn’t, back in the day. if you didn’t smoke, you still had ashtrays in the house, for when people came to visit.

      when they first tried to control smoking on planes, it wasn’t “no smoking at all” it was “let’s at least have a non-smoking section”–it was seen as absurd that there even be a corner of the plane where one couldn’t smoke.

      • i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        I’ve read that aircraft mechanics were sad when smoking stopped because the nicotine smears on the aircraft were such a good visual clue of where air was leaking and it made theirs jobs a lot easier.

      • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I was on a plane in the very early 90’s, and I remember being about 10 years old and the second the ‘smoking okay’ sign came on, a WALL of smoke rolled back through the curtains that separated the sections.

        • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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          2 months ago

          yea, the “non-smoking” bit was a complete joke, especially on planes. restaurants were slightly better, but the smoke still went everywhere

          they had to start somewhere though, and as powerful as big tobacco was at the time, it’s kind of a miracle that they got anything changed at all