CABIN ATTENDANT RPT REGARDING AN EVAC AT THE GATE WHEN SMOKE BEGAN TO FILL THE CABIN. COMPANY WANTED THE CABIN CREW TO ACCEPT ANOTHER FLT IMMEDIATELY.

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THE MAIN CABIN FROM ABOUT ROWS 13 TO 27 FILLED WITH DENSE SMOKE. PAX STARTED TO PANIC. NOT KNOWING CAUSE; WE INITIATED AN EVAC. I THINK THE AIRLINE IN QUESTION WAS LIMITING IN WHAT I AS A CREW MEMBER SHOULD BE FEELING OR REACTING TO IN THE AFTERMATH. I SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN REQUIRED TO DEAL WITH PAX LATER. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THAT THE PROB WHICH OCCURRED AFTER THE EVAC WAS OF COMPANY POLICY AND PROCS. THERE IS APPARENTLY A NEW PROCESS WHEREBY THE EMERS ARE CATEGORIZED AS TO THE LEVEL OF EMER INVOLVED SO THAT CABIN CREW CAN BE REASSIGNED OR NOT. THIS WAS SO NEW IT WAS NOT EVEN IN THE FLT ATTENDANTS' MANUALS WHEN THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED. THE REQUIRED FORM IS TO BE COMPLETED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INCIDENT AND INDICATES THAT AN EVAC FROM THE JETWAY IS NOT CONSIDERED TOO SEVERE AN OCCURRENCE. THIS WAS DEFINITELY NOT TRUE FOR THIS FLT ATTENDANT CREW. THE SMOKE WAS VERY THICK AND PAX WERE BEGINNING TO PANIC. THE FLT ATTENDANTS FOLLOWED PROPER PROCS AND WERE ABLE TO EVAC ALL PAX WITHOUT ANYONE TRYING TO ENTER THE OVERHEAD BINS WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. THIS CABIN CREW HAD NOT DEALT WITH AN ACTUAL EVAC BEFORE AND THE ADRENALIN WAS EXTREMELY HIGH. WHEN COMPANY TRIED TO REASSIGN THEM TO ANOTHER FLT THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. ONE CALLED THE UNION AND THEN THE COMPANY BACKED DOWN AND RELEASED THEM TO GO HOME. RPTR INDICATED THAT 2 OF THEM HAD RATHER SEVERE POST TRAUMATIC SHOCK WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MECHS WERE WORKING IN THE COCKPIT WHEN THE SMOKE DEVELOPED IN THE CABIN. APPARENTLY THERE WAS NO RELATIONSHIP BTWN THE 2 EVENTS. SMOKE VERY LIKELY CAME FROM THE AIR CONDITIONING SYS.