For us public transport is a short-term trip so no problem not smoking there, trains do have a smoking carriage as a general rule but it seems to me that some official lobbying has taken place to shame the smokers inasmuch that these are the most unkempt and tatty pieces of stock they can find.

Its my experience that in the halcyon days of a smoking section on airliners, the booking software was likely a MS issue 0.1; invariably all those who asked for smoking were pushed up front and the most vocal non-smokers were invariably in the last 5 smoking rows.

Usually, owing to a computer glitch, there would be one smoker amazingly correctly allocated but then the whingeing mayhem would break out when he or she correctly sparked-up and then there followed a game of musical chairs with the pros and cons re-allocating themselves according to common sense.

Then of course you could get that momentary uplifting relief when finally seated in the check-in desk confirmed smoking rows to have the well made-up cabin girlie announce that the smoking rows now arbitarily started two behind where you were.

Latterly the SS trained cabin staff refused this outbreak of common sense and insisted you could only exchange seats on a transient basis for the duration of the ciggie.

Notwithstanding the hype about careful design and control of cabin environment and airflow, we now have the mob rule of the antis, but it seems to me that a simple curtain and the already designed rearward airflow met all the criteria.

Of course you can still smoke on an airliner, the crew do all the time and have demonstrated on TV.

1. Lock yourself in the bog and ignore the cable tie attached smoke detector, open the wash basin drain to start the vacuum drain system and ensure the ciggie and exhaled smoke is in the basin.

2. Befriend a smoking member of the cabin staff and use the galley as they do where entirely similar to 1 above, the perforated drip tray for the tea and coffee urns is under constant and strong exhaust air flow.

I suspect the nanny state will be issuing cotton wool lined boxes anytime soon.

R.