Also the fact that planes these days are slower and travel times longer than 30 or 40 years ago. This makes the above seating arrangement even worse for long distance flights.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/6247384/flights-longer-now-plane-slower/

As a German living in Australia I can ensure you, smoking is still just as prevalent, it’s just people here being addicted to vapes instead of traditional cigarettes.

Disposable vapes are also dangerously cheap (2000 puff vapes are equivalent to about 10 packs of cigarettes, while only costing about $20) and despite efforts to ban them, easily available at any TSG/Ezymart without age verification.