Surprising places people used to smoke without even thinking
From classrooms to cockpits, lighting up was once as common as breathing. For anyone under 40, it’s hard to fathom just how thoroughly tobacco smoke permeated everyday life from the 1950s through the 1980s. According to the CDC, by 1993, nearly 82% of indoor workers faced some restriction on workplace smoking, which means that for decades prior, smoking was essentially unrestricted in most settings. Cigarettes weren’t just tolerated in public spaces; they were practically encouraged.
Schools and universities: Designated smoking areas for students
High schools across America actually maintained designated smoking areas for students. At Cheyenne East High School in Wyoming, the courtyard outside the cafeteria served as an official gathering spot where jean-jacketed teens huffed down cigarettes between classes. Some schools had outdoor corrals or “Smokers’ Walls” where students could light up freely. Teachers and administrators accepted this as typical teenage behavior, with many schools not banning smoking until the late 1980s or early 1990s.
Workplaces and offices: Cubicles filled with smoke
Office workers routinely smoked at their desks throughout the workday. According to the CDC, by 1993, only 47% of indoor workers had completely smoke-free environments, meaning more than half still worked alongside smokers. Ashtrays sat on desks next to telephones and staplers. Conference rooms were filled with permanent clouds of smoke hanging over meetings. Even hospitals allowed smoking at nursing stations, with respiratory therapists lighting up next to patient monitors as late as 1983.
Airplanes and public transportation: Smoking sections at 30,000 feet
Nothing seems more dangerous in retrospect than smoking on airplanes. Airlines banned smoking on flights under two hours in 1988, extended that to flights under six hours in 1990, and finally prohibited all tobacco in 2000. For decades before that, passengers routinely lit up mid-flight, with designated smoking sections proving ineffective as smoke circulated throughout pressurized cabins. Flight attendants fought for over 20 years to eliminate this workplace hazard.
Restaurants and entertainment: Dinner with a side of smoke
Going out to eat meant breathing secondhand smoke with your meal. California became the first state to ban restaurant smoking in 1995, but most establishments nationwide continued allowing it well into the 2000s. Movie theaters, bowling alleys, and shopping malls all accommodated smokers. The transition to smoke-free dining happened remarkably quickly once it began, with half of U.S. states enacting comprehensive bans by 2010.
Unexpected everyday locations: From shopping malls to grocery stores
Perhaps most shocking to younger generations, people smoked freely in shopping malls and department stores throughout the 1980s. Phoenix-area malls featured indoor smoking lounges complete with sandboxes filled with cigarette butts where children would sometimes play. Shoppers pushed carts through grocery store aisles while smoking. Major retailers like Sears didn’t ban smoking in their 799 stores until 1994. People even lit up in elevators, though ashtrays were typically placed outside elevator doors for fire safety.
Looking back
These dramatic changes in just a few decades demonstrate how quickly social norms can shift when public health takes priority over personal habits. What once seemed perfectly normal now appears shockingly reckless, reminding us that today’s accepted practices might someday seem equally unthinkable to future generations.
Related:
- 10 things we did in the ’80s that we can’t today
- 5 Common Household Hazards & How to Safeguard Against Them
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This article was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
