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The Disappearance of the Ashtray

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Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#81

Post by petre »

j_m_b wrote: post #7

It's tough to portray just how ubiquitous smoking was to a modern audience. You would go to a restaurant and the first thing your hostess would ask is "smoking or non"? I remember standing in a checkout line in the 80s as a child and being fascinated with the billowing clouds of smoke an old lady blew. I remember coming home from bars reeking of smoke, even though I didn't. Even teachers had their own lounges that re…

In my country it went from bars filled with smoke to being banned in enclosed spaces. 3+ walls = enclosed space. Such a breath of fresh air, even the smokers were happy.

The lady who made it into law was in politics for a mere legislature. Not a career politician.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#82

Post by teruakohatu »

rusteh1 wrote: post #13

I remember my first professional job in 2008 and noticing the lifts in the building had ashtrays in them. I couldn't fathom smoking in such a confined space with others!

I suspect smoking was banned in the lifts but, much like the ashtrays that still exist in airplane bathrooms, it is better that one exists for rule breakers than a fire is started because someone decides to drop the butt on the carpet and stamp it out.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#83

Post by HyperSane »

j_m_b wrote: post #7

It's tough to portray just how ubiquitous smoking was to a modern audience. You would go to a restaurant and the first thing your hostess would ask is "smoking or non"? I remember standing in a checkout line in the 80s as a child and being fascinated with the billowing clouds of smoke an old lady blew. I remember coming home from bars reeking of smoke, even though I didn't. Even teachers had their own lounges that re…

Smoke in bars could be so thick it would sting your eyes and your clothes would reek after you left.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#84

Post by HyperSane »

paulpauper wrote: post #79
j_m_b wrote: post #7

It's tough to portray just how ubiquitous smoking was to a modern audience. You would go to a restaurant and the first thing your hostess would ask is "smoking or non"? I remember standing in a checkout line in the 80s as a child and being fascinated with the billowing clouds of smoke an old lady blew. I remember coming home from bars reeking of smoke, even though I didn't. Even teachers had their own lounges that re…

People were desperate for a high, an escape, to kill time, to beat the monotony. Today escape is through junk food.

And video games and porn.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#85

Post by HyperSane »

OkayPhysicist wrote: post #45
j_m_b wrote: post #7

It's tough to portray just how ubiquitous smoking was to a modern audience. You would go to a restaurant and the first thing your hostess would ask is "smoking or non"? I remember standing in a checkout line in the 80s as a child and being fascinated with the billowing clouds of smoke an old lady blew. I remember coming home from bars reeking of smoke, even though I didn't. Even teachers had their own lounges that re…

I went to Vegas a couple months ago, and one thing that absolutely blew me away was the fact that, just within the last ~5 odd years since I last visited even the casinos stopped reeking of tobacco . I figured it was a confluence of factors: people smoke less now, people are far more likely to vape than smoke (which, for its ills, definitely doesn't leave a lingering stench like cigarettes), and there was a lot of ta…

Vaping is almost harmless compared to how many diseases smoking tobacco causes and how much it makes a person stink and how much it makes buildings stink and how the tar builds up on walls.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#86

Post by King-Aaron »

So I used to smoke, and also smoked cannabis when I was younger. One thing that fascinates me is the new-found legality of pot in the US, and in particular some of the paraphernalia that's come along with it. I see that Seth Rogan has a company which sells really nicely designed ashtrays and things, and I find it kind of "nice" that companies are still designing and selling things like this, even though they seem like a relic of the past now.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#87

Post by boomboomsubban »

jeffbee wrote: post #67

That Gallup survey doesn't really scan for me. If you had told me in 2001 that 35% of my generation were smokers I would not have believed that. There must be a huge regional component to those survey responses.

Too high or low? It sounds about right to me, if you include the casual smokers in the 35%.

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#88

Post by camillomiller »

Stratoscope wrote: post #43
j_m_b wrote: post #7

It's tough to portray just how ubiquitous smoking was to a modern audience. You would go to a restaurant and the first thing your hostess would ask is "smoking or non"? I remember standing in a checkout line in the 80s as a child and being fascinated with the billowing clouds of smoke an old lady blew. I remember coming home from bars reeking of smoke, even though I didn't. Even teachers had their own lounges that re…

Smoking or non? Looks like you're about 25 years younger than me. When I was a kid, there was no such thing as a nonsmoking section. Of course you could smoke, anywhere! Us kids didn't get real tobacco cigarettes, but we always had candy cigarettes so we could "smoke" along with the grown-ups. https://www.google.com/search?q=candy+cigarette&tbm=isch One difference from today was that our candy cigarettes had brand na…

Smoking on planes is absolutely something I can't wrap my head around in any possible way. How the hell someone EVER thought it would be a good idea to let people smoke while packed inside a flying metal cylinder?

Re: The Disappearance of the Ashtray

#89

Post by bentobean »

To each their own, but personally - I don’t find them beautiful or nostalgic at all. They remind me of the stench of stale smoke and death.

> “Even if your parents don’t smoke, it’s nice for them to have an ashtray available for guests.”

…the thought of someone trying to light up a cig in my house. Haha. No.

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