# Are you bothered if someone 'smokes' next to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866 "2013-09-03T05:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/21 "2013-09-03T13:57:06Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Yes, I _hate_ it. Then I have to smell it for the rest of the day and have a headache. I’m not worried about occasional exposure to second hand smoke being dangerous for me, it just makes me feel sick. I don’t know how I could have stood it back when smoking was allowed all over the place. Before it was outlawed here, I did still used to go to bars and clubs that allowed smoking, since that was all of them, but it sucked. I feel the same way. Also, I don’t want it on my clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/22 "2013-09-03T14:29:23Z")
If I’m in an area that smoking is allowed I will accept it without attitude and move if possible/necessary. If there is a choice I avoid smoking permitted areas. If it’s a non smoking area I’ll say something or look for someone who can enforce the rule. If it’s a non tobacco product that is gaining legality I’ll leave and probably take some drugs of my own. Marijuana is my one remaining migraine trigger. Despite that I support legalization, my situation is rare and shouldn’t have any impact on the legality of a substance. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/23 "2013-09-03T14:32:16Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Yes, I _hate_ it. Then I have to smell it for the rest of the day and have a headache. I’m not worried about occasional exposure to second hand smoke being dangerous for me, it just makes me feel sick. I don’t know how I could have stood it back when smoking was allowed all over the place. Before it was outlawed here, I did still used to go to bars and clubs that allowed smoking, since that was all of them, but it sucked. I’m not that bad, but there are days when I could easily shoot my upstairs neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/24 "2013-09-03T15:16:20Z")
I’d prefer they didn’t, but I’m not too upset by it. Depends on the ventilation. Casinos can get pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/25 "2013-09-03T15:34:40Z")
This one gets a _much_ stronger “prefer they didn’t” than the other thread. This is more of a “fantasize about supersoaker rampage” version of preference. Tobacco smoke and I don’t get along. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/26 "2013-09-03T15:41:30Z")
I don’t mind a little cigarette smoke but if I’m in a cloud of it, no thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/27 "2013-09-03T19:17:31Z")
I’d prefer they didn’t, but it’s not that big a deal unless we’re in a closed room. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/28 "2013-09-03T19:19:24Z")
Former smoker. I hate it, and will ask people to stop in some circumstances (i.e. where there’s not really an option for either of us to move away or it’s a posted non-smoking area that they’re ignoring, like the platforms of Atlanta’s MARTA stations - where I run into this a lot). I don’t know how I smoked for as long as I did, because now being around it sends my sinuses into serious pain - I was around my family Saturday evening and didn’t move away from it, and I’ve been carrying the headache around since, with it slowly fading. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/29 "2013-09-03T19:35:31Z")
Other. Outside? Don’t care. Inside? Really annoying. This assuming both are courteous and don’t exhale right in my face. Smoke indoors is just so much more overwhelming, I can’t deal with it. Luckily, recent laws against public indoor smoking have mostly taken care of this for me. 🙂 I used to smoke cigarettes recreationally on a regular basis, and enjoyed it. I like the smell of the fresh smoke, especially menthols. I just don’t do it because it’s unhealthy. But now my body is completely unused to it and I find that direct exposure to secondhand smoke makes my eyes burn and my throat sore. Also, I don’t like my hair and clothes to smell like the stale smoke afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/30 "2013-09-03T19:47:40Z")
Other: Just plain YES. If somebody lights up, and we’re someplace it’s okay to smoke, I’m moving. If it’s not okay for them to smoke there, I’m asking them to leave. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/31 "2013-09-03T19:53:03Z")
Not bothered. Am not usually bothered by stuff. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/32 "2013-09-03T19:58:50Z")
Not sure if I should have voted 2 or 3. It’s certainly stronger than a preference they don’t smoke. If at all possible, I’m leaving, they’re leaving or the cigarette is being put out. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/33 "2013-09-03T20:16:31Z")
I don’t really mind the smell of tobacco smoke out in the open air, but if a person is going to be smoking right next to me then _I’m_ going to smell like smoke - and that is firmly in the ‘prefer they didn’t’ category. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/34 "2013-09-03T20:24:59Z")
> [@PookahMacPhellimey](#): > > Not bothered. Am not usually bothered by stuff. Neither am I but the problem is that when you’re not bothered by stuff, you tend to be a little insensitive to the fact that other people _can_ be. At least that’s been my case. Even if nobody else appreciates it, I like being the last person to complain. If you’re the first person to complain, we probably won’t be friends. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/35 "2013-09-03T20:27:02Z")
I chose “prefer they didn’t,” but if somebody asks if I mind if they smoke right by me, I’ll probably say “go right ahead.” Smoke doesn’t usually bother me that much, but it certainly is nice when somebody checks. I don’t know many people who smoke, but apparently the ones I do know are especially polite and considerate. They almost always ask, and I’ve even had people ask me if I mind if they smoke in their own homes! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/36 "2013-09-03T20:41:07Z")
I went with “prefer they didn’t” but it’s actually a much stronger position. I have a pretty strong reaction to tobacco smoke. In high school, a kid used to smoke before school and sometimes sat next to me in our first class of the day. Even that was enough to start triggering my asthma. I went to Disneyland as a kid when it was still legal to smoke in the lines and suffering through that is my main memory of that weekend. If people do light up around me, I usually move myself rather than trying to make anyone stop. Fortunately, the laws around here make that pretty easy most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/37 "2013-09-03T20:48:23Z")
Oops, (doh) answered the wrong question. I picked “other” but should have picked “no way in hell”. “Other” would be my answer for the vape question. My answer is no because I have asthma, and smoking makes it worse. Sorry, but if you knew how it felt, you wouldn’t bother to ask. You’d know better. If someone’s smoking outside and the smoke is drifting my direction, I move. Despite living in Durham NC, this is very rarely a problem. I was concerned when we moved here in 2000, but was happy to find that most smokers are polite, even to a “dayum Yankee”. Things got even better mid-decade when smoking in public venues was outlawed. Smoking is a vile habit, but even as someone who can’t stand it, the pendulum has swung perhaps a bit far. When I see where smokers have to go to get a smoke, I feel bad for them. However, I don’t feel bad that they can’t pollute the air I’m trying to breathe indoors. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/38 "2013-09-03T20:53:43Z")
Voted Other: Don’t mind in a reasonably well ventilated area. (My dad smoked a pipe after hitting 40. There’s some pleasent smellin’ blends in that department.) Don’t like smoked filled bars or star chambers, though. Don’t like the smell of a room where the cigarette/pipe smoke has permanently embedded itself into the paint/wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/39 "2013-09-03T21:55:47Z")
Picked other, because “prefer they didn’t” is much too bland a response for me. There are very, very few things I actively detest in the world, but I DETEST smoking of any kind. In my view, there is nothing acceptable or forgivable about it. You’re addicted? Tough. It helps calm your nerves? So what? It. Is. Disgusting. Period. End of Sentence. Yeah, so I have an issue about it. Sue me. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866/40 "2013-09-03T23:17:16Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > No, it doesn’t bother me. As someone who has given up, I am determined I won’t be that irritating ex smoker, and smelling the odd whiff of someone else’s cigarette is not going to kill me. I don’t go ballistic when I smell the odd whiff of tobacco smoke but I’d rather not be standing right next to someone while they’re smoking. Especially if the wind is blowing in my direction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-smokes-next-to-you/667866.md?page=3)