# "This is a no smoking flight" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524 "2015-01-11T05:34:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/1 "2015-01-11T05:34:13Z")
Why are airlines STILL making the announcement “This is a no smoking flight”? As if a smoker just has to maybe wait for another flight which may allow him to smoke. It just seems that its been so very long since one was allowed to smoke on an aircraft, that they would finally stop making this annoying announcement. Is it a federal law that forces the airline to make the announcement? When was the last time a flight originating in the US allowed smoking? Are there any flights in other parts of the world that still allow smoking? ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/2 "2015-01-11T05:36:50Z")
I imagine it’s to short-circuit the jagoffs who would try to light up in the lav because “Nobody said it was no smoking!!11!11!1!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/3 "2015-01-11T05:59:55Z")
I have flown on Air Koryo and they did not allow smoking… so I doubt anyone does. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/4 "2015-01-11T06:08:03Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > When was the last time a flight originating in the US allowed smoking? June 3, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/5 "2015-01-11T06:09:18Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Is it a federal law that forces the airline to make the announcement? [Yes.](http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.571) > [@](#): > > Each passenger shall be briefed on when, where, and under what conditions smoking is prohibited including, but not limited to, any applicable requirements of part 252 of this title). This briefing shall include a statement that the Federal Aviation Regulations require passenger compliance with the lighted passenger information signs, posted placards, areas designated for safety purposes as no smoking areas, and crewmember instructions with regard to these items. The briefing shall also include a statement that Federal law prohibits tampering with, disabling, or destroying any smoke detector in an airplane lavatory; smoking in lavatories; and, when applicable, smoking in passenger compartments. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/6 "2015-01-11T07:44:44Z")
Do they still have the slots in airliner restrooms where you can dispose of old twin edge razor blades? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/7 "2015-01-11T15:55:12Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > I have flown on Air Koryo and they did not allow smoking… so I doubt anyone does. There are indeed a few, if only a few, airlines left that do not ban smoking as a matter of principle; examples include Garuda Indonesia and Cubana. Obviously even on these airlines smoking is prohibited if it concerns a flight to or from a jurisdiction that has legislation in place that all incoming or outgoing flights have to be non-smoking, but on other routes they can still allow it. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/8 "2015-01-12T14:28:45Z")
As long as there are still ashtrays in the seat arms? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/9 "2015-01-12T18:25:52Z")
Do they prohibit vaping as well? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/10 "2015-01-12T18:32:04Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Do they prohibit vaping as well? According to my daughter, yes. And they’re quite insistent on it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/11 "2015-01-12T21:24:37Z")
Gotta love [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYAq-7sOzXQ) on cell phone use on planes. (some language NSFW at the end) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/12 "2015-01-12T22:06:13Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I imagine it’s to short-circuit the jagoffs who would try to light up in the lav because “Nobody said it was no smoking!!11!11!1!!!” Last year I was taking Amtrak and they gave the “No Smoking” spiel at the start. About a half hour later they gave the same sppech again, but this time with the tone of “We caught someone smoking. If it happens again you’re getting kicked out at the next stop.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/13 "2015-01-14T03:54:26Z")
Does the law make them have to announce it as “This is a no smoking flight” instead of “No smoking allowed” or anything else that doesn’t suggest that there are also “smoking flights”? ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/14 "2015-01-14T11:44:56Z")
I can’t imagine a world which allowed smoking on planes. Aside from all the smoke having nowhere to escape to, which must have made the planes very unpleasant, isn’t it dangerous to have open flames in a plane? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/15 "2015-01-14T12:56:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Gotta love [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYAq-7sOzXQ) on cell phone use on planes. (some language NSFW at the end) Thanks. That was funny! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/16 "2015-01-14T14:36:58Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I can’t imagine a world which allowed smoking on planes. Aside from all the smoke having nowhere to escape to, which must have made the planes very unpleasant, isn’t it dangerous to have open flames in a plane? Yes, open fire was always a stupid idea on airplanes. The entire supply of air is replaced on board every few minutes. There is more ventilation on modern airplanes that there is in modern houses or office buildings. So it’s hardly a case of “nowhere to escape to”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/17 "2015-01-14T15:10:38Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > …isn’t it dangerous to have open flames in a plane? You would think so, but in fact there are no passenger airliner fatalities which are attributable to smoking-related fires. Varig Flight 820 (1973) crashed due to a fire which was quite likely caused by a cigarette left in a rear toilet garbage receptacle, but no definitive cause for the fire was determined. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/18 "2015-01-14T15:37:20Z")
Smoking on planes was used to make plane travel terrible. There was a non-smoking section that people would walk through while smoking anyway, and the smoke level at the rear restrooms was unbelievable by contemporary US standards. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/19 "2015-01-14T16:41:34Z")
IIRC, I’ve been on some flights where they change it to something like “Air Midwest is a non-smoking airline so this flight and all of our flights are non-smoking flights…” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-a-no-smoking-flight/709524/20 "2015-01-14T17:02:58Z")
It was horrible. The last smoking flight I was on was in about 1994 from LAX to Toronto. I was so hungover I could barely function, and although I was in non-smoking the smoking section was right behind me. That was one looong flight.