When did the word "smog" become politically incorrect? Now, air pollution is called "haze".
There's a difference. Smog is smoke + fog (really aerosol pollution + fog), particularly bad in regions like LA where there is cool ocean water offshore sending fog inland to mix with the aerosols. Haze is just the aerosols, and it can exist without water vapor. Smog is thicker (and also more corrosive, in many cases).