# Smokers - how do you survive long airplane flights? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061 "2013-01-23T00:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/1 "2013-01-23T00:29:58Z")
Smokers - how do you survive long airplane flights, since smoking isn’t allowed in planes? (I’m not a smoker looking for advice - I’m a curious non-smoker.) ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/2 "2013-01-23T01:11:20Z")
I don’t smoke anymore, but when I did I survived a trans-Atlantic flight ok (admittedly because I took benadryl and slept for most of it). I made for damn sure that I had a carton of smokes in my carry on, though, and smoked like a motherfucker the minute we landed. In other news, I flew Aeromexico to Mexico City back in 1996, and you could still smoke on their planes. I did just for the thrill of it (Wow! I’m smoking on a plane!), but frankly it was unsettling (Yipes! I’m setting stuff on FIRE on a plane!). ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/3 "2013-01-23T01:15:03Z")
Nowadays you might be able to take an electric cigarette into the bathroom and puff while you piss. I wouldn’t try to smoke one out in the open, since people get weird when they see one. And some (all?) airlines don’t allow them anymore. You could probably still get one into your carryon, though. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/4 "2013-01-23T02:05:20Z")
Chewing tobacco. I also bring empty water bottles to hold spit. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/5 "2013-01-23T03:31:06Z")
There’s heaps of nicotine replacement items you can buy. Micro tabs that you suck, lozenges, gum, inhalers etc. I can do a 5 hour flight without needing anything. Anymore than that, I take the nicorette tabs or lozenges. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/6 "2013-01-23T03:56:10Z")
For the 14 hour flight from Australia to the US I put on a patch, after smoking the much meatier American smokes for a few months I used the trip home to detox a bit but had gum in case I needed it. If I still smoked I would probably use the inhalers as they mimic the action and the dosing is easier to manage. 14 hours in the air frays the nerves enough without withdrawal kicking in. ---
**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/7 "2013-01-23T11:05:10Z")
I usually put on a nicotine patch and chew some gum. I haven’t been on an international flight yet (or flights longer than five hours), so I’m not sure how I would be, but I would think I’d be ok. When we land, and if we have time, I’d slip outside and have a smoke or two in between flights. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/8 "2013-01-23T11:52:43Z")
Ex smoker here…I could handle flights within the US OK, but do recall buying nicotine gum a time or two for international flights. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/9 "2013-01-23T13:03:18Z")
Ex smoker (I only gave up at Christmas, that’s the first time I’ve said that!). I was never a very heavy smoker, maybe 5-15 a day depending what I was up to, but I just sort of mentally turned off my habit. Smoking is part addiction and part habit – I found it was quite often habit that made me light up, at regular points in the day. Because being on a plane was out of my routine, it was easier not to think about it. Of course, part of the habit was that I had to light up as soon as I got off the flight. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/10 "2013-01-23T13:16:12Z")
I take lots of Xanax and sleep the whole flight. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/11 "2013-01-23T13:56:06Z")
Lozenges. That’s going to be me tomorrow. 6.5 hour flight. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/12 "2013-01-23T14:56:35Z")
I’ve recently given up (though am chain-chewing nicotine gum when I drink), but when I did a couple of transatlantic flights some years ago I took a box of menthol snuff with me. UK customs on the way out took great interest in it and tested it with their electric drugs-nose. And it was a lot of fun in-flight drinking wine and snorting powder off the back of my hand, for the buzz, the sneezing and the furtive alarm in fellow passengers. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/13 "2013-01-23T15:01:29Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > I’ve recently given up (though am chain-chewing nicotine gum when I drink), but when I did a couple of transatlantic flights some years ago I took a box of menthol snuff with me. UK customs on the way out took great interest in it and tested it with their electric drugs-nose. And it was a lot of fun in-flight drinking wine and snorting powder off the back of my hand, for the buzz, the sneezing and the furtive alarm in fellow passengers. I must admit, that image made me laugh. 😛 **Superhal** , I wasn’t aware that chewing tobacco was allowed on flights. Though maybe it’s so rare they don’t actually have a regulation about it? ---
**Author:** ![RedBloom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/14 "2013-01-23T15:28:59Z")
I can go hours without smoking with no problem. If I know I can’t smoke, I just don’t. When I get off the plane and out the door, I light up immediately however 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/15 "2013-01-23T15:34:42Z")
When I was a 3 pack a day chain smoker I would avoid direct cross country flights. I spent a lot of time in O’Hare waiting for connections. But otherwise I found a little secret for getting through this: I didn’t smoke. Believe it or not it’s possible to go a long time breathing only air. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/16 "2013-01-23T15:49:08Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I must admit, that image made me laugh. 😛 > > **Superhal** , I wasn’t aware that chewing tobacco was allowed on flights. Though maybe it’s so rare they don’t actually have a regulation about it? I’m confused. Is chewing tobacco dangerous to other passengers or something? Why would it need to be regulated? This thread amuses me, because I just asked my ex-smoker boyfriend this question over the weekend. His answer was that he brought chewing tobacco. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/17 "2013-01-23T15:50:49Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I must admit, that image made me laugh. 😛 > > **Superhal** , I wasn’t aware that chewing tobacco was allowed on flights. Though maybe it’s so rare they don’t actually have a regulation about it? In Virginia, every gas station and convenience store carries chewing tobacco. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/18 "2013-01-23T16:30:01Z")
> [@RedBloom](#): > > I can go hours without smoking with no problem. If I know I can’t smoke, I just don’t. When I get off the plane and out the door, I light up immediately however 🙂 Ditto. I don’t turn into some crazed addict…I know it will be a long flight and get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/19 "2013-01-23T16:55:27Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I’m confused. Is chewing tobacco dangerous to other passengers or something? Why would it need to be?. My guess is because it is messy, it stains, it can stink and other passengers may make a fuss. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061/20 "2013-01-23T16:58:52Z")
What I do, before boarding a long flight or entering a movie theater or nightclub, is smoke 2-3 cigarettes in a row by taking long, deep drags and holding in the smoke, as if I were smoking a joint. The nicotine overdose makes me dizzy and a little sick at first, but it knocks back the cravings for a couple of hours. Adding gum and/or patches also works wonders, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-how-do-you-survive-long-airplane-flights/648061.md?page=2)