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Let me start by saying I am an ex-smoker. That is, many years ago I was a pack and a half a day smoker. I am thus the worst kind of anti-smoker and have no tolerance for smoke of any kind. I still cannot believe I used to smoke on an airplane and shake my head even thinking about it.
This is one of the reasons I love skiing in Utah each year. They are about as anti-smoking of a culture as you can get. For many years, before others started catching on, I enjoyed being able to go into a bar and not come out smelling mundungus.
Europeans seem to be much slower in coming around about the destructive nature of cigarette smoke. I mean look at the large smoking room inside the KLM Crown Room lounge in Amsterdam. I doubt you will ever see such a room in a Sky Club or even thought about. But I am sure all of us have walked by smoking rooms in airports like Atlanta. Well, soon they will be gone if you are a Delta flyer and connecting in Salt Lake SLC.
NBC news, and others, are reporting that by year end all five of them currently open will be gone. I will not shed a single tear.
What that means for smokers is you must quit if you fly Delta (OK maybe wishful thinking).
No, what that means is if you have a tight connection you will not be able to quickly step into a smoking room and light up. You would have to exit the secure side and then hope you can get back through security quick enough to make your connection (if you don’t have TSA PREcheck you better get it NOW)!
Bottom line is airport space is really valuable and I think Salt Lake is once again blazing the trail and others will soon follow as we have seen an explosion of all kinds of retail and dining and new lounges in DTW, MSP & ATL and SLC is no different.
Will the end of smoking rooms in SLC change it as a connection point for your travels smokers? Or will this help you to quit once and for all? 😉 – René
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At $8.25 a pack times 1.5 times 365= $4516
That is a whole bunch of travel dollars and liquor!!!
Yank these toxic rooms out of ALL airports. When you walk by the one in the B concourse in ATL the toxic pigarette smell permeates into the surrounding gate area.
Minnesota was an early adapter of no-smoking bans. Back in the late 80’s it was pretty easy to avoid 2nd hand smoke in MN. I flew frequently MSP-SLC in those days. Finally in ’88 smoking was banned on flights of 2 hours or less which covered the MSP-SLC flights. But get off the airplane in SLC and life in the airport and restaurants was a very horrible smokey affair. While the Latter-Day Saints make alcohol difficult for their neighbors to obtain, they were overly and annoyingly tolerant of their smoking while the rest of America was becoming much less so.
To a smoker, those “lounges” are sanctuaries- a place to feed the monkey on their backs and achieve calmness. Smokers are going to smoke, so removal of “lounges” only places a greater burden on TSA security. Of this, I am certain- I quit 5 months 26 days and 2 hours ago. I’m not a militant hater like Rene- compassion is fresh on my mind. If the economics of valuable real estate are driving this change, then I’d suggest fee based smoking “clubs”/ bars be started in well insulated secure areas. In Nashville or Memphis, I think the latter, there is a smoking bar/restaurant with live music. Patrons are expected to make a purchase. This model seems to address the economics, serve smokers, and mitigate TSA security burden. I’d probably add a $2 club fee if it were my business. Finally, I think if smokers are not provided a place to feed their addiction, then there is greater risk for rage/incidents in the air. Recent events in USA beg for compassion. @srhayes
@Scott – Txs for input. I agree, I am over the top anti-smoke. But at least I admit it freely 😉
OMG! I had no idea you were one of THOSE people … perhaps I need to re-evaluate my travel pals.
Oh but wait, my wife is one of THOSE as well!
Congrats on kikinit!
It is funny to me that this is the article I read from you today, Rene. I had my last cigarette exactly 35 years ago (and one day) and I know this because my last cigarette was the day I got married. I celebrated that event just yesterday with my husband of 35 years – the marriage, not the smoking. It’s easier to be less militant these days because so many places are smoke-free and I do feel for those who have a hard time kicking the habit. Maybe that’s why my husband is going to retire this year – all those cigarettes he didn’t have to help pay for!
@Chris – Congrats (for both)! It is over 30 years for me now. It was really hard I have to say but happy I quit when I did.
I’m no longer a smoker but these rooms save stress to those that are. Air travel, especially during busy times is very stressful. Stressed out smokers become horrible people when they haven’t had their cig’s these rooms keep the stress contained a bit, especially when tight connections keep them from having the time to go outside for their cigs, risking long security lines and missing connections. I agree the smell is annoying but it’s pretty minimal. Better ventilation and a ventilated rotating door could make that go away (the ventilation system in those rooms at the SLC airport are pretty horrible considering what they are.
Hello, Rene’, the end can’t come soon enough. My Mother was a life-long smoker, God bless her, as she passed away many years ago – not to smoking surprisingly.
As a kid taking trips in the family car it was a horrible experience because of the cigarette smoke. Fortunately it taught me to never smoke and I’ve passed that on to my grown children.
Although I’ve moved to TX from CA one of the few good things in CA was they adopted the ‘Smoke-Free’ bars and restaurants many years before other states did.
I’ll miss them but times are a changing. And thanks for not hounding me when we travel and I sneak away to a room.
Funny story I was at s bar on the Nevada Califirnia border. The Ca side was no smoking. The Nevada side was smoking. There was a line painted across the floor and ceiling to point out the state border. I lit up on the wrong side and got chastised badly. Bizarre but laughably true.
@Graydon – I have faith in you my friend that one day you too will give up the habit. You are too special to lose to anything smoke related. I am very greedy and want to visit many places on the planet together again and again! 🙂
The best cigarette i ever had was in 6th grade. Made me choke so bad i never touched one again. Glad to see the SLC smoke boxes gone.
My response to those who say, “Smoking Kills!”, Keep the rooms for those who want them. If you don’t smoke, stay away.
If you are supporting the closure of smoking rooms, do you also support the shut down of city bus service that emits noxious diesel fumes? Do you rally against coal fired-power plants emitting poisons? Fracking wells injecting toxins underground eventually tainting water supplies?