As far as we can tell, there are far more new cars with anti-lock brakes than cigarette lighters and their natural allies, ashtrays. Proving that cars are indeed responsive to changes in culture, the general disapproval of lighting up has affected the automobile industry.
It’s a good thing, of course. Even drivers who smoke agree that huffing and puffing in the car is the surest way to stain the roof lining and upholstery, along with creating a smell that brings a dingy pub to mind.
This move by automakers follows that of airlines, which have long stopped equipped seats on their planes with flip-up ashtrays (smoking is explicitly prohibited on all commercial flights).
In place of the lighter, the modern car dashboard has a 12-volt power socket to charge our mobile phones and other personal devices that us connected/entertained on the move.
But car manufacturers still make provisions for smokers who die-die must smoke in the car, with a cost option called “smoking pack” that combines an in-dash lighter with an integrated ashtray. This option is unpopular, at least in Singapore.
