Mike P wrote:

Don't get me wrong there are a LOT of things that make people "uneasy"
on flights; crying babies at the side, fear of flying, being out of
control etc etc. All these can lead to someone feeling the "fight or
flight" syndrome they try to mask this with booze and whammo!! I do
feel that breathing stale air (which actually only smells cleaner)can
help lead to these feelings Most people can subdue these feelings
(although they may turn huffily to mother of said screaming baby and say
"can't you shut that child up?") the occasional one becomes almost
catatonic whilst a very small minority will actually take it out on
others to such an extent that the incident becomes severe enough to be
reportable as an "air rage" incident.

BTW I gave up smoking four years ago. The smells cleaner but is
really "dirtier" air is I am sure an unintended consequence.
Wasn't there a voluntary restriction on smoking long before there was
a ban? With long haul flights being the last affected?