I remember whenever you went to a sit down restaurant you had to tell the person seating you if you wanted smoking or non-smoking. As if it mattered lol.
Actually, most planes from that era circulated air front to rear and smoking was always the rear section, and the entire cabin's air was renovated every 1-3 minutes, so unless you were seated in the row immediately before smoking, you didn't get smoke.
I hear you, but for some reason I don't believe you. I grew up in the 80s and never experienced cigs on a plane, but I have a feeling the smoke smell spread further than the seated row before smoking.
My first flight that i was ever on was pretty much the last one that still had smokers on them, and the airplane definitely snelled like smoke. I remember my second flight, some guy lit up a cigarette and they explained him that smoking isn't allowed anymore, and people were like: i fon't care, let him smoke and shit. Insanity.
Our favorite restaurant* growing up had a little corner with like 3 tables as the non smoking section. We'd go there because my kindergarten teacher and her husband owned it.
One of the last times i was in a restaurant where indoor smoking was still a thing, the waitress asked us if we want to be seated in a smoking or non smoking section. We picked non smoking, because, gross. We were right on the line between smokers and non smokers, and i sat back to back to a guy who chainsmoked when we were eating.