Phone Calls in Meetings

When did it become OK to answer a phone call in a meeting? I personally find it incredibly distracting. I *never* answer my phone during a meeting. I try (and some times forget) to place my phone on vibrate, and if I need to answer the call (because my house is on fire), then I walk outside. While that is a bit distracting, it's not as bad as answering. If something is an emergency, my family knows to call me twice if I don't answer (or send an SMS).

I am guilty of doing email in meetings. Working on that one. The solution there relies on getting less email though so I don't feel like I constantly need to be on mail.