I remember working in restaurants in high school, coming home, showering, and the stench of cigarette smoke just releasing itself from my hair
Fun times
this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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Yeah man. When I was in the military in the early to mid 90's they hadn't banned it at the federal level at first. It was so disgusting having to work inside. I would go back to the barracks at night coughing if I had to work next to certain people in my unit for any length of time because they were chain smokers and as a lowly PFC I couldn't say shit to anyone about it. I would ALWAYS volunteer for any duty outside just to get away from it.
Second year I was in, they banned all indoor smoking across the entire federal government and I was SO HAPPY. The amount of bitching from those crusty old soldiers though... 😂
I ended up picking up smoking in college in the early 2000s and I have to wonder if the constant exposure to second hand smoke in places I worked, in cars from family members, etc, was a factor
I was disgusted at the time but then I fell into it. I quit eventually, which was a nightmare, but I do think the exposure to second hand nicotine from the age of like 2 was maybe a factor
If nothing else the constant exposure normalized it for you and made it easier to start. I’m glad you were able to quit. I’ve heard nicotine addiction can be stronger than heroin for some people. So kudos to you!
Nicotine has deep claws, that's for sure. I wasn't even a particularly heavy smoker and I still get a craving sometimes even coming up on ten years since I quit. Hell, I have the occasional dream about smoking still.
So I've since quit, and I understand why even what I'm about to describe doesn't exist anymore where I am, but right at the tail end of smoking indoors there were businesses/buildings doing totally walled off, wellish ventilated smoking areas. Those seemed ok to me, and when I (stupidly) took up smoking I was sad those were gone.
The only, and last, one I saw when I was a smoker was in an airport, which was an unexpected godsend because my fuck does it suck to be a smoker waiting for a flight.
(Yes, it's a gross and deadly habit that's also unhealthy and gross for the people around you and the employees who had to work in/clean such spaces, and it makes sense to have no smoking indoors).
I don’t know about ”most people in the workforce.” I’m in my mid-30s, and not only do I remember it once or twice from my childhood, I also encountered it once in 2013 (at a brewpub somewhere in New York). You’re right, though, that it becomes less of a thing with each passing year.
You know it didn't occur to me that different states banned it at different times and I lived where it happened very early. So that makes sense!
I'm thinking this only applies to 20 somethings
When I was a kid, I went on a plane with my mum and we had to walk through a smoking section at one point (we were in the non smoking part).
It was a memory I wouldn't forget, not that it was anything spectacular though it smelt rather bad. Ironic since I mix tobacco with my weed now a fair bit (unless I'm vapourising).
Now it just surprises me that smoking was ever allowed inside aircrafts. Absolutely mad times we have come from.
They do if they have medical insurance.
The only good part is there would be a long line out the door and we could get a table for 6 with no waiting. Even though only 25% of tables were non-smoking, that section was empty which made it great for kids as nobody cared how out of line we got.