Why didn't anyone smoke?

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Was TOS forward thinking for its time, or just fortuitous with how it portrayed future society. Aside from one blooper (smoke rising from the bed while McCoy operates in sickbay), no one in the 23rd Century according to the 60s smoked.

Was this a conscious decision on the part of Roddenberry and the producers, dare I say it, for health reasons, or was it just an aesthetic choice? After all, the future is a lot cleaner without an ashtray in the Captain's chair.

 

[Kemaiku]

Because its a filthy, thoroughly health risking habit that they knew better than to continue to indulge in?

 

[Timo]

For one thing, eliminating fags eliminates a lot of continuity errors... Of the sort where a cigarette should get shorter as time passes, but seldom does. Eliminating booze (or eliminating transparent drinkware) would help, too, but in that respect Trek never fared particularly well.

Dunno. Perhaps tobacco would have been too mundane for a futuristic show, not because of health issues but because of recognizability. TOS went for colored cubes rather than identifiable food, and tried to present all beverages in unidentifiable or exotic bottles, too. Were there to be smoking in the show, a futuristic equivalent (perhaps some sort of an inhalator device) should probably have been used, then.

We did see some water pipes, now didn't we?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hambone]

...smoke rising from the bed while McCoy operates in sickbay...

That smoke was caused by the malfunctioning medical equipment, while the ship was under attack by the Orions.

Why not?

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

...smoke rising from the bed while McCoy operates in sickbay...

That smoke was caused by the malfunctioning medical equipment, while the ship was under attack by the Orions.

Why not?

I always reconciled it with some kind of laser scalpel burning through flesh...

 

[KimMH]

Perhaps because we mostly saw them while on duty. People now know smoking is not good for you but continue to do it. I'm sure Starfleet wouldn't forbid them from smoking if it weren't illegal - but seeing secondary characters off duty was rare - and Spock and Bones wouldn't have smoked for obvious reasons - and Kirk may have been trying to set a good example for his crew.

 

[Sci]

Was TOS forward thinking for its time, or just fortuitous with how it portrayed future society. Aside from one blooper (smoke rising from the bed while McCoy operates in sickbay), no one in the 23rd Century according to the 60s smoked.

Was this a conscious decision on the part of Roddenberry and the producers, dare I say it, for health reasons, or was it just an aesthetic choice? After all, the future is a lot cleaner without an ashtray in the Captain's chair.

Perhaps the producers realized that it was a disgusting, immoral habit that not only shortened the lives of its practitioners, but killed people around them too?

 

[Christopher]

Was this a conscious decision on the part of Roddenberry and the producers, dare I say it, for health reasons, or was it just an aesthetic choice? After all, the future is a lot cleaner without an ashtray in the Captain's chair.

Roddenberry was aware that smoking was an unhealthy habit, and yes, he was very forward-thinking in choosing to present a future that had eradicated it, particularly in a time when smoking was generally ubiquitous on television and tobacco companies were major TV advertisers. In TNG, he tried to do the same with alcohol by postulating that harmless "synthehol" had taken its place.

As for the "smoke" in the sickbay scene in "Journey to Babel," I always figured that since the procedure was cryogenic (mispronounced by Nimoy as "cyrogenic"), what we were seeing was supposed to be condensation vapors from the cold.

 

[darkshadow0001]

Was TOS forward thinking for its time, or just fortuitous with how it portrayed future society. Aside from one blooper (smoke rising from the bed while McCoy operates in sickbay), no one in the 23rd Century according to the 60s smoked.

Was this a conscious decision on the part of Roddenberry and the producers, dare I say it, for health reasons, or was it just an aesthetic choice? After all, the future is a lot cleaner without an ashtray in the Captain's chair.

I wonder if its because by that time they eliminated everything old school, including bad habits like smoking. But I wonder could it of had something to do with World War III?

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Was this a conscious decision on the part of Roddenberry and the producers, dare I say it, for health reasons, or was it just an aesthetic choice? After all, the future is a lot cleaner without an ashtray in the Captain's chair.

Roddenberry was aware that smoking was an unhealthy habit, and yes, he was very forward-thinking in choosing to present a future that had eradicated it, particularly in a time when smoking was generally ubiquitous on television and tobacco companies were major TV advertisers. In TNG, he tried to do the same with alcohol by postulating that harmless "synthehol" had taken its place.

As for the "smoke" in the sickbay scene in "Journey to Babel," I always figured that since the procedure was cryogenic (mispronounced by Nimoy as "cyrogenic"), what we were seeing was supposed to be condensation vapors from the cold.

That was amazing foresight on Roddenberry's part then, and in retrospect, it's as profound as the egalitarian future that he presented in terms of society. I guess it because smoking is so anathema on television now, that more isn't made of that original creative choice in Star Trek

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Because its a filthy, thoroughly health risking habit that they knew better than to continue to indulge in?

Yeah, because people are getting smarter about their bad habits.

They smoke on BSG, of course - both the crummy original and the 2003-2009 version.

A lot of more exclusive New York clubs are starting to ignore the smoking ban there. They pay their occasional fines, and that's it.

 

[SilentP]

Do they allow smoking on board ships in the Navy? Or specifically, inside the ships? Could be a point of realism for crewmen to be forbade smoking due to unnecessary strain on the life support system (wouldn't be much, but it would be a logical reason to ban smoking on board starships).

 

[TheKeeper]

I wonder if its because by that time they eliminated everything old school, including bad habits like smoking. But I wonder could it of had something to do with World War III?

Maybe a fungus or something destroyed all tobacco farming in the mid-21st century. The resulting nicotine fits around the world made everyone grumpy enough to finally push the big nuclear buttons?

 

[Alrik]

There was a thread on this not too long ago in the Movie Forum, here: http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=107501

The studio initially pretty much insisted that they show crew members smoking because of the big money they were getting from advertising. But Roddenberry dug in his heels and held to the idea that smoking would likely be eliminated by the time of Star Trek. Much like keeping Spock, having a asian navigator, and casting a black woman, he won the battle.

 

[Grant]

fortuitous & fortunate have two different meanings.

Fortiutitous means --by chance
fortunate---good luck

in other words it can be 'fortuitous' that a huge boulder falls on your head---but it certainly wouldn't be fortunate.

 

[Greg Cox]

Roddenberry was actually showing plenty of foresight. Showing crew members smoking would have inevitably dated the show. Just look at at old movies like IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE where the astronauts are smoking in the cockpit of their spaceship! It looks completely laughable to modern eyes.

(Although I do remember Martia smoking a cigar in movie #6.)

 

[Therin of Andor]

in other words it can be 'fortuitous' that a huge boulder falls on your head---but it certainly wouldn't be fortunate.

But the boulders at Vasquez Rocks are all made of painted foam rubber...?

 

[Kegg]

Maybe they just moved on to addictions that were way cooler. Like those food cubes, perhaps they were twenty times more immoral than smoking and twice as fun. Who knows?

(Although I do remember Martia smoking a cigar in movie #6.)

That'd be Nick Meyer no doubt, who had the No Smoking signs in #2. Maybe smoking is just more common on Earth but Starfleet material is expected to kick the habit?

 

[Christopher]

But Roddenberry dug in his heels and held to the idea that smoking would likely be eliminated by the time of Star Trek. Much like keeping Spock, having a asian navigator, and casting a black woman, he won the battle.

The idea that Roddenberry was a champion of racial inclusion battling a prejudiced network is part of the myth Roddenberry generated himself. Inside Star Trek reveals (and backs this up with actual network memos) that NBC was in fact strongly in favor of more diverse casting in their shows, and indeed one of the reasons they rejected most of the cast from "The Cage" is that it fell short of the diversity Roddenberry promised them. It's true that they objected to Spock, but otherwise they were on the same page as Roddenberry when it came to diversity, and in fact pushed him to do better in that regard. (I mean, the only hint of diversity in the "Cage" cast is that the blond navigator Tyler has a Hispanic first name -- which is never even used onscreen!)

 

[Kegg]

^
Well, and the Asian transporter officer.