Some questions in life are tough. “Why are we here?” Others are much easier: “Should I smoke on a plane?” The answer: No. But you’d be surprised how many people get that wrong!
So, you’re sitting at the gate, waiting to taxi out to the runway, dying of thirst, smoking your e-cigarette—then the flight attendant asks you to stow the electronic device for the duration of the flight. Do you: A) Put it away and not smoke for the 95 minutes it takes to get from LAX to Salt Lake City? B) Put it away and protest the unfair practice prohibiting e-cigarette use with customer service once you arrive? Or C) Put it away, pull it out again, throw peanuts and pretzles at the flight attendants in protest of the airline’s practice of prohibiting in-flight smoking then open the overhead storage containers while on approach, ignoring commands from the flight crew and generally act like a spoiled child?
If you’re 42-year-old Paul Pogos Sefilian from Southwest flight 188 on Monday, the correct (but wrong!) answer is C. For his efforts, Sefilian was arrested by the FBI when the plane landed and charged with interference with a flight crew in U.S. District Court. So, when he goes to prison, will they trade him for e-cigarettes or the real thing? [The Salt Lake Tribune]
