Smoke lingers , air con mist disappears, like in restaurants,bars,cars, shops in fact most places you see an air con unit!
Smoke smells, air con mist doesnt smell like smoke.
Some people
Good to know you have good experience with A/C systems. You would spend less time in restaurants,bars,cars and shops and more in planes you would get another type of experience telling you how to deal with passengers, I mean if that's your job.
Captains are sometimes generously paid for their "responsibilities" in regard to the number of souls on board, logically it should be their responsibility to prevent such situations with a proper cabin crew briefing.