Question for smokers...

[ghostsofgiants]

Actually it's a 2-part question.

1) Why is it only some smokers that reek of stale tobacco smoke?

2) Do those who smell of stale tobacco smoke realize just how disgusting it is?

I'm on my way to a headache right now, I can sense it. x(

[asthmaticeog]

1. Easy:

1) It depends on what they're wearing, how often it's laundered and if they mainly smoke indoors or out.

2) No. After X amount of time, one becomes entirely indifferent to the smell, it's like it isn't there.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. I'm a smoker...I'd guess that

People who smoke indoors a lot smell more like it than those of us (Me & Sniffa included) who only smoke outdoors. :)

[sniffa]

3. But it covers up the weed smell

:shrug:

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

15. I will admit, I've used it for that, lol

When all you have is a lighter, a pack, and someone you need to see, it can work.

[Shell Beau]

4. I am a former smoker. So I feel I can answer fairly.

1. I am not sure why some smell and others don't. People always told me it didn't smell like I smoked. Maybe cause I always smoked outside in open places.

2. I don't think smokers realize how stinky it is unless they have quit for a while and then smell it on someone else. I never did think I could smell like that. But it is a really stinky stink!

[johnnie]

5. I try to smell as much like smoke as I can

It keeps people out of my personal space.

[LynneSin]

13. Well as long as it's only smoke....

and you're not one of those assholes who pours perfume all over themselves thinking they'll cover up the smoke smell with it

:puke:

[TK421]

17. I would only do that in an elevator...

except it would be after-shave

[Withywindle]

6. some answers.

1) No idea. Maybe it has something to do with what brand they smoke, and how regularly they wash their hair and do laundry?

2) No, we don't. I have no idea if I smell of smoke or not. But my boss said he didn't even know I smoked until I'd been working there like a year, so maybe I don't. I don't lose a lot of sleep worrying about it, though, sorry.

[AlCzervik]

7. i think when people smoke inside their house and car they tend to smell like

stale tobacco smoke. I do smoke but never in my house and never in my car. I am the only smoker in my immediate family and i try not to stink up their environment plus i don't my house and car to stink either.

[Iggo]

23. There you have it.

People who smoke in the car totally reek.

[Heidi]

8. As a smoker, I agree with asmaticeog.

Also: if folks are smoking in your space, you might consider letting them know that it's giving you a headache. Many smokers are a lot more considerate that non-smokers might imagine. I wouldn't dream of invading someone's personal space or endagering their health with my addiction. :hug:

[ghostsofgiants]

32. He was sitting a few stations away...

But asking him to move to a different station would have been a pain in the ass for him, just as moving would have been for me, so I just dealt with it.

[mokawanis]

9. I'm sure I reek sometimes

because I smoke in the house and in my car so it gets into my clothes and hair. Sometimes when I return to work from lunch break people comment about the stench, which I find humorous. I respect people's right not to have to breathe in the smoke from my cigs but as for the lingering smell, I will make no accommodations. Of course I realize what an awful smell it is but I don't care as long as I'm conforming to smoking regs.

[blueknight]

11. huh?

you dont care if you stink?

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

16. The smell is better for the people around them than the alternative.

Which for some smokers not getting their fix, would be death by homicide.

[mokawanis]

28. Nope

it's a small price to pay for the joy of smoking

[Phillycat]

10. As a three-month smoke free person, (THAT'S RIGHT!) I answer:

1. As others have said, you need to smoke in an enclosed environment for a while to really get that reek. People who smoke in their houses have the smell everywhere. When my mom sends me magazine articles in the mail, they smell like smoke. How crazy is that?

Also, believe it or not, certain weather makes you smell worse. If it's hot and humid outside, the smell clings more.

2. I don't know about others, but I was ALWAYS aware of the smell and ashamed of it. Anyone who says they're not ashamed of how they smell as a smoker is either lying, in denial, or has no concern for the comfort of others. In fact, the best part of quitting smoking for me has been getting rid of all the shame. I hated when people saw me smoking on the street, I hated the smell, the fact that my breath and hair and clothes stank. Just awful and frankly, lower class. All smokers know this. You're not telling us anything we don't know!

[raccoon]

14. Sometimes I've checked out books from the library that smell like smoke.

Another thing, smoking dulls one's sense of smell.

[dropkickpa]

12. 2 part answers

1) hand washing. Seriously, the lingering smoke is damn near eliminated from a simple good hand washing. I wash my hands after smoking, and the smeel wiped out.

2) sometimes. Just like stinky cat pee guy (a regular customer I had when I worked at a grocery store long ago), many people are unaware of their own stench. People who wear buckets of perfume are the same, they've become accustomed to it and are just not aware of it.

[Madrone]

19. Good point.

I've always been big on the hand washing too.

[Runcible Spoon]

27. yep, what you guys said RE: the handwashing.

now that I'm smoke free it's a lot less hassle!

[Madrone]

18. I think brand of cigarette is the most important stench factor.

I see other people on the thread attributing it to smoking inside the house or car, etc - but I think that they say that because they are outside smokers. ;) The second most important factor is how MUCH someone smokes. With the exception of the one pack I bought and smoked over the weekend before June 2nd, I've been smoke free since January 5th. I ALWAYS smoked in the house, and in the car. People were routinely shocked to find out that I smoked (funny since I started buying them regularly at 14) and I was often told I didn't stink of cigarettes. My house never stunk either, nor do/did my belongings. Granted, if you were to come over while I was smoking, or shortly after I'd smoked you WOULD smell cigarettes. It always cleared out relatively quickly though - and even though I smoked in this house for 3+ years it doesn't stink.

That said - I know exactly what you're saying and I HATE that stale nasty cigarette smell you are referring to, and I also find it odd that only *some* smokers have that issue. It turns my stomach as well. Blech.

[RadiationTherapy]

20. The ones who reek need to use a LOT more cologne...

LOTS more.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. That just makes matters worse, haha.

[Runcible Spoon]

26. oh God please no.

I love a man in cologne, but ONLY after I have spent literally an hour or more picking it out with him and making sure it is absolutely perfect for him.

Most people just slather on the Aqua Velva and then they're good to go. Please don't encourage this! I'll take smoke smell over marinated in cheap cologne ANY day! :scared:

[Dogtown]

22. perhaps

they don't give a rat's ass about your headache, P1.

do ya think???

[ghostsofgiants]

24. I'm sure that's a possibility.

That knocks them from smelly to inconsiderate jackass though.

[Dogtown]

29. Well, actually

That would be "stinky inconsiderate jackasses" though; one would not reduce the other.

[ghostsofgiants]

31. Haha, touché.

:P

[Runcible Spoon]

25. When I smoked, I washed my hands after every ciggie.

I was that paranoid about stinking like smoke, since I seemed to only date non-smokers. I also paid attention to the direction of the smoke, and tried to rotate my body out of the line of it. I never smoked inside unless we were so drunk that nobody noticed or cared.

Those "smoking jackets" people used to wear are a great idea IMO.

[Westegg]

30. Sometimes I reek, sometimes I don't...

...and when I can smell myself, even I am disgusted. Once in a while, I pass someone who is completely saturated with stale tobacco smell and it's sickening. I know I don't ever smell that bad, because my wife wouldn't allow it. It smells like death, frankly. Which I guess is what it is. I don't smoke all that much, and I tend to do it either outside, or inside at my writing desk, which has a huge window fan next to it, so I'm never wreathed in smoke.

Do I plan to quit? Yes. Have I cut down? Yes. Thank you for your concern.