It kind of scares me to think what it means about the age of the plane I am on, but I still see the vestigial ashtray every once in a while during my travels. It’s hard to believe that in a single generation smoking that was once accepted everywhere has been virtually banished from the public arena. Like dinosaurs seeking refuge in the last habitable havens after an extinction event, smokers are now relegated to crowded smoking enclosures and back door alleys.
Smoking has been on the decline and continues to fall according to a new report on substance abuse and mental health. Much of the progress can be attributed to the shift in how smoking is often perceived as a social stigma and always a health risk; even smoking on film is now scorned. With children growing up in smoke free environments this trend will most surely continue…if we are lucky the habit could be near extinct in another generation. This long term approach and steady assault on not just the act, but public perception and its societal acceptance is one of the biggest lessons we can learn when searching for ways to battle our substance abuse problem that has shown no signs of abating.
But as I pass the crowded airport bar, have liquor miniatures passed over my seat by the flight attendant, and listen to the ubiquitous snoring drunk that cranks up louder than the jet engines- I know the battle has yet to even take off.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Did the dinosaur inhale? Your blog might come under fire if animals were harmed in making this post!
Just think about learning to fly in a trainer that has been abused by hundreds of students(and already 40 years old!!!). Some of my landings at the beginning were pretty hairy.
Commercial aviation is relatively safe even with the age of the fleet.
Question: Why is using chewing tobacco tolerated? Goof I work with chews, but crabs if his wife smokes.
in the making of this post and any resemblance between the dinosaurs used in this post and real life is purely coincidental.
some places it is tolerated, and others it is definitely not regardless of what kind of tobacco product. I just wish drinking and more pointedly excessive drinking and drunkeness was less tolerated.
I can see your point about how smoking has gone down in recent years due to an increase in stigma and the way it is now viewed in a more negative light, but I wonder if that is really going to change things in the long run because of teenagers.
You know what I mean….teenagers will do anything just to rebel against something. Not just teens but youth in general. Strengthening the stigma will not help when the problem starts in youth. Just my thoughts of course…..
but there is no doubt that it will continue decline. I think the same would happen with drinking if it was no longer viewed as a right of passage and glorified by pop culture. Yes there would always be the rebellious set, but even a small percentage of change could mean thousands of lives and billions of dollars saved.