Let's hope you're never in a position where you have to find out. But if you ever are, let's hope they do work. And that some TSA flunky doesn't decide to ban them.
I really got upset at the latest diktat, that you can't take lighters on board. I don't smoke, and don't own a lighter, but for those who do, what exactly are they supposed to do with them? Unlike actual weapons, you can't put them in checked luggage; lighters have long been banned from checked luggage, for very good reason. Nor can you mail a lighter, again, for very good reason. So what are you to do with it?
I first think of those expensive kinds of collectors' lighters (Zippo is a brand name that comes to mind, though I really know nothing about it), or ones that are family heirlooms. But even with the cheap ones you get at a newsagent, it's still a possession that costs money, and they're forcing you to discard it. And if you're a smoker, then I imagine that after a several-hours-long flight, on which smoking is now banned, you must be desperate for a smoke as soon as you get off the plane. Now you have to first buy a new lighter.
Which leads me to the subject of the ban on smoking on all flights, and how cruel I think this is to smokers. They should have smoking-optional flights, so the addicted have an option, while those of us who'd rather not smell them can choose the no-smoking flights instead.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2005-07-22 08:37 pm (UTC)I really got upset at the latest diktat, that you can't take lighters on board. I don't smoke, and don't own a lighter, but for those who do, what exactly are they supposed to do with them? Unlike actual weapons, you can't put them in checked luggage; lighters have long been banned from checked luggage, for very good reason. Nor can you mail a lighter, again, for very good reason. So what are you to do with it?
I first think of those expensive kinds of collectors' lighters (Zippo is a brand name that comes to mind, though I really know nothing about it), or ones that are family heirlooms. But even with the cheap ones you get at a newsagent, it's still a possession that costs money, and they're forcing you to discard it. And if you're a smoker, then I imagine that after a several-hours-long flight, on which smoking is now banned, you must be desperate for a smoke as soon as you get off the plane. Now you have to first buy a new lighter.
Which leads me to the subject of the ban on smoking on all flights, and how cruel I think this is to smokers. They should have smoking-optional flights, so the addicted have an option, while those of us who'd rather not smell them can choose the no-smoking flights instead.