11

Sidney Coleman smoked during lectures he gave. Was this universally acceptable behavior at the time? When did smoking during lectures become inappropriate?

Buffy
  • 363,966
  • 84
  • 956
  • 1,406
Count Iblis
  • 3,711
  • 11
  • 14
  • Maybe it is just not possible to smoke inside a building? And outside... maybe possible, but since people are more health-conscious, they might remind you to the negative effect of passive smoking –  Feb 07 '21 at 12:19
  • It probably still happens somewhere in the world. – Buffy Feb 07 '21 at 12:41
  • 6
    I had a famous visiting French professor smoke during his lively lectures ca. 1994. As he tended to walk up to students and sit on the desks next to them, he pretty much smoked into everyone’s face. It had long been illegal at that point, but no one cared. – gnometorule Feb 07 '21 at 13:08
  • 3
    I fail to understand why this question is off-topic. It asks about "smoking during lectures". – Nobody Feb 07 '21 at 13:16
  • 1
    @scaaahu This question really depends on when a specific country approved a law against smoking in public places or workplaces, I'm not sure it can be "universally" answered. In my country it was in 2003. – Massimo Ortolano Feb 07 '21 at 13:29
  • @scaaahu, I voted to close because it is basically an irrelevant question. If it isn't "allowed" or practiced now, it won't be in the future. I entered college (US) in the 1960s and don't actually remember anyone ever smoking during lecture. Maybe it is just slipping my mind, but I can pretty much guarantee that smoking (or vaping) won't be an issue in the future, even in those places where it is still permitted. It might be appropriate for The Workplace, however. – Buffy Feb 07 '21 at 13:40
  • 3
    @MassimoOrtolano The asker asks about acceptable behavior/ inappropriate, not "illegal". The question may be too broad. But, why off-topic? – Nobody Feb 07 '21 at 13:44
  • @Buffy If it's on-topic on Workplace, it should be on-topic here because it's about lecturing. I know it's considered inappropriate in these days and probably in the future. But, if I understand it correctly, it asks about the past. – Nobody Feb 07 '21 at 13:48
  • 1
    @Buffy: By that argument, wouldn’t any historical question be off-topic - such as, what’s the history of qualifying exams? :) – gnometorule Feb 07 '21 at 13:52
  • @gnometorule, we still have quals. If we didn't then it would be a purely research question and then, again, off topic. So, that may be yet another reason to close it. Do the research if it is a valid research question. But, I'll admit it wasn't a "bright line" decision. But, I also hope we aren't flooded here with such questions. I value questions with more substance. – Buffy Feb 07 '21 at 13:58
  • 1
    @scaaahu Can such a distinction be made in a universal sense? Probably it would be better if the OP specified a country. – Massimo Ortolano Feb 07 '21 at 14:15
  • 1
    @MassimoOrtolano There are actually two questions. If the OP specifies the country (the video indicates it's at Harvard), I think the first question is answerable. I think the second one is hard. As far as I know, smoking is prohibited in public places until recent years in some countries in Asia. I'll leave the close/open issue to the community/mods. – Nobody Feb 07 '21 at 14:55
  • That Sidney Coleman clip says 1975. Yes, it was perfectly normal at that time. When I was an undergraduate, one of my professors was a chain smoker. He smoked in class, he smoked in his office, he smoked when eating at a restaurant. We students thought nothing of it; many of us had smoker parents or relatives. I met him again 20 years later, early 1990s. He still smoked a little, but he would go outside the house to do it. – GEdgar Feb 11 '21 at 19:14

1 Answers1

2

Some older universities have lecture theatres of mainly timber construction. At those places, I'd suggest it was always inappropriate. Otherwise, I'd say it became inappropriate as soon as there was clear evidence in the peer-reviewed literature that passive smoking has serious deleterious health effects on otherwise healthy adults. A quick Google Scholar date-range search suggests that this happened between about 1979 and 1981.

The "universally accepted" half of the question, of course, may be a very different matter.

Daniel Hatton
  • 8,519
  • 2
  • 19
  • 38