# When and why are cigarette lighters and ash trays no longer in vehicles? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315 "2020-08-29T13:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/41 "2020-08-31T02:43:52Z")
Weren’t there more than 3? Do you still have your P38? ---
**Author:** ![GiraffeEarlobe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/giraffeearlobe/32/21194_2.png) [@GiraffeEarlobe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GiraffeEarlobe)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 10:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/42 "2020-08-31T10:24:19Z")
I’ve been asked a few times by a passer byer if I have a lighter. I always say no and forget to realize that my car being an 07 is equipped with one via the charging socket. That’s alittle awkward [https://gifs.ninja/wp-content/uploads/bVZ6QTv.mp4](https://gifs.ninja/wp-content/uploads/bVZ6QTv.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/43 "2020-08-31T13:33:25Z")
> [@Robert-Gift](#): > > Cigarette companies paid off automobile manufacturers to install equipment we had to pay for? HUH??? Where did you hear that crap? Every adult I knew back in the 50’s and into the 60’s smoked. So car companies just did what people wanted. My son has bought a couple of used cars and we made sure neither one had the smokers option. Nothing worse then driving a car that was owned by smokers. More then once I’ve refused to rent a car that had a distinct order of cigarette or cigar smoke. It’s absolutely disgusting habit that I wish would go away. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/44 "2020-08-31T13:37:59Z")
> [@GiraffeEarlobe](#): > > I’ve been asked a few times by a passer byer if I have a lighter. I always say no and forget to realize that my car being an 07 is equipped with one via the charging socket. That’s alittle awkward How is that awkward ? You don’t have one in your pocket and do you really want to open your vehicle to a stranger just to get smoke in it ? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/45 "2020-08-31T13:39:14Z")
Hmm, did trauma centers payoff automakers to delay installation of seatbelts and airbags? If we are going off the rails on this thread, might as well take the entire train. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/46 "2020-08-31T13:42:04Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > Every adult I knew back in the 50’s and into the 60’s smoked +1 The adult who _didn’t_ smoke was the exception to the rule, and people smoked everywhere! Whether you were in a supermarket, or on a plane, or even in a drug store, it was almost impossible to escape the stench of cigarette smoke. When I was a kid, I can recall seeing our Pharmacist smoking a cigar while he prepared prescriptions, and that was pretty revolting. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/47 "2020-08-31T13:48:37Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > When I was a kid, I can recall seeing our Pharmacist smoking a cigar while he prepared prescriptions, and that was pretty revolting. I remember going to the doctors office and the doctor walking in with a cigarette in his mouth. Being away from smokers and breathing Oxygen…it’s made me very sensitive to smoke. I get headaches almost immediately when someone is smoking near me. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/48 "2020-08-31T13:59:42Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I remember going to the doctors office and the doctor walking in with a cigarette in his mouth. Yup! Cigarettes were–literally–everywhere, up to somewhere in the '80s, IIRC. For anyone to ascribe the presence of lighters and ashtrays in cars to some kind of a tobacco company conspiracy is fairly bizarre, IMHO, but I am going to guess that Mr. Gift is too young to recall how common cigarettes were, years ago. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/49 "2020-08-31T14:05:48Z")
It still amazes me in this day-and-age with all the science behind how dangerous smoking is that you still see kids and young adults smoking. When I was a kid back in the 60’s much of the dangers due to smoking were known…and many more have emerged since then. I had an uncle who was on oxygen the last 5 years of his life. Major health problems since he was in his 50’s (all due to smoking)…and to the day he died (at 61) he refused to accept the science behind dangers of smoking. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/50 "2020-08-31T14:23:30Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > he refused to accept the science behind dangers of smoking There is also the reality that the addiction seems to be very difficult for some people to shake. About a year ago, I was in the checkout line at Costco behind a guy who was buying a HUGE quantity of _Nicorette_ chewing gum. I said something to the effect of… _It’s good that you’re trying to stop smoking_… He replied that he had been chewing that gum for several YEARS. Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/51 "2020-08-31T17:53:25Z")
People used to handle mercury in hat making, and it damaged their brains. People also used to use lead for water pipes (Romans, I think), and I’m sure it had a toll on their brains too. I think you can put early tobacco users on the same group Eventually, people figured out that these Substances were dangerous and stopped using them. Saying that any of them are to blame for today’s problems is unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/52 "2020-08-31T17:56:00Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > People also used to use lead for water pipes (Romans, I think), You’ll find lead pipes in old areas of cities across the US. I found out part of the piping from the street to our 1922 house was lead! ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/53 "2020-08-31T18:43:56Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > People used to handle mercury in hat making, and it damaged their brains. Mercury was in the making of Hats. Thus the term “Mad Hatter”. > **[Where did the phrase “mad as a hatter” come from?](https://www.history.com/news/where-did-the-phrase-mad-as-a-hatter-come-from)** > > Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” famously features an eccentric character called the Hatter, who’s referred to in the story as “mad” and became popularly known as the Mad Hatter. However, the phrase “mad as a hatter,”... > [@texases](#): > > I found out part of the piping from the street to our 1922 house was lead! Many towns have lead pipes…but most lined the pipes with a coating to prevent them from leaching. Not that long ago in Boston one of the original water pipes needed to be replaced. When they dug it up they found it was a hollowed out log. Lasted over 100 years. They think there’s still more of them there. At least there wasn’t any lead. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/54 "2020-08-31T19:00:52Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > Saying that any of them are to blame for today’s problems is unreasonable. Lighten up a little and @db4690 It was a joke son. 😀 And if you talk to them, they refer to themselves as “Indians” not “Native Americans” just to be clear and get off the track. Are we done talking about smoking now? ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/55 "2020-08-31T19:50:50Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > but most lined the pipes with a coating to prevent them from leaching Not true in my experience, The water production plant adds a chemical to prevent leaching. we have a lead service, EPA allows up to 15 PPB, had ours tested and we were at 0.18 PPB. Our city is doing a few thousand lead service replacements per year. Our service from the curb stop to the house is galvanized. might have gotten more lead riding a bike before lead free gas, and remember being advised not to eat berries from next to a roadway due to lead concerns. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/56 "2020-08-31T20:04:57Z")
Now that we have digressed to water pipes, it wasn’t until the 80’s that lead solder for copper pipes in your homes was discontinued. So if you did a test on your new plumbing in your new house, there was lead in your water regardless of the supply lines in the street. Of course it didn’t last forever as the joints became coated with minerals, the lead exposure dissipated. ---
**Author:** ![cdaquila](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cdaquila/32/18089_2.png) [@cdaquila](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cdaquila)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/57 "2020-08-31T20:31:53Z")
Hello everyone. Can we please be a bit mindful of staying on topic? There are a few different possibilities here and I’ll leave them to you. Thanks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/58 "2020-09-01T00:46:36Z")
All right . . . “pops” 😉 > [@bing](#): > > Are we done talking about smoking now? ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/1/c/1cbbcd07d967ba2b20d69ded5aaf7f9779371db2.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/59 "2020-09-01T01:00:14Z")
> [@db4690](#): > > All right . . . “pops” 😉 I see at least you are bringing it back to cars anyway. What kind of car is that anyway. Looks like a Ford or a Lincoln in some strange land. ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315/60 "2020-09-01T01:06:21Z")
I think it’s in Egypt . . . the caption read that kids there start smoking before hitting puberty I’ll take a wild guess as to the car(s) . . . Seat or Skoda? Anybody recognize the dog in the background? Pug or French Bulldog? [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315.md?page=2) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/when-and-why-are-cigarette-lighters-and-ash-trays-no-longer-in-vehicles/169315.md?page=4)