For some years there has been a move for limiting and restricting smoking in certain public areas. For example, there has long existed smoking and non-smoking areas on commercial airlines. Moreover, the Civil Aeronautics Board is now considering totally banning smoking on short flights. Smoking restrictions such as those presently found on commercial airlines exist in other public areas as well. Many State and local governments have considered and are presently considering legislation aimed at restricting smoking in certain public areas, especially public areas where individuals find themselves in close quarters. Thus in the future it is likely that such restrictions on smoking will have a substantial effect on smoking and the right and ability to smoke in public areas.
While restricting smoking in public areas may be effective, it is interesting to consider that very little effort has been made in the area of designing a smoking apparatus or a smoking system that will enable an individual to smoke tobacco material or a cigarette and not bother individuals in and around the individual smoking. In this regard, what is being alluded to is a smoking apparatus that can be deemed to be a closed or generally closed smoking system. Such a closed smoking system entails a smoking apparatus wherein the smoking material or cigarette contained within a structure and during the smoking process the resulting smoke from the cigarette and/or the individual smoking is somehow confined.
There has been some very limited efforts at designing such a generally closed smoking system. For example, see the disclosures found in U. S. Pat. Nos. 4,198,992; 4,211,244; 4,198,992 and 1,792,279. However, these smoking devices are not truly totally closed smoking systems. In addition they have tended to be large, bulky and hard to handle. In addition besides being large and bulky, such smoking devices of the prior art have tended to be complicated and hence expensive.