# Do you let people smoke in your home? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2014, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535 "2014-04-20T09:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/21 "2014-04-20T12:15:55Z")
Haven’t had anyone ask in a long time. Even in situations where all manner of drink and smoke are being consumed, tobacco users get up and go to a porch/patio to light up. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/22 "2014-04-20T12:22:47Z")
We don’t generally have company, and the company we occasionally have do not smoke. That said, if there was a one-time visitor who smoked and it was very cold or raining outside (such as that I, myself, did not want to go outside with them and keep them company), I would encourage them to smoke in the house. Otherwise, I’d go out and sit with them when they smoked. I used to smoke, and I still really enjoy the smell of someone else smoking (stale smoke is less pleasant). Someone smoking once every couple of years is not going to have a lasting impact, and if the smell lingers for a few days, well, I can live with that as the price of hospitality. On the other hand, if I had a BFF who hung out at my house all the time, I’d ask them to keep it outside. It’s the buildup that really lingers. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/23 "2014-04-20T12:23:22Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > I smoke in my home; my friends can smoke in my home: I smoke in my friends’ home: otherwise they wouldn’t be my friends. > > Then again I’m British and we still have some social freedom. I absolutely defend your right to smoke in your home, but for me, “social freedom” includes MY right to keep MY home smoke-free if that’s my preference. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/24 "2014-04-20T12:27:43Z")
Not just no, but hell no. I don’t even want them smoking outside - that stench lingers. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/25 "2014-04-20T12:35:37Z")
For a while, I was paying someone to do my laundry, in her home. She is a smoker, and I realised that my laundry was coming back to me smelling of stale cigarette smoke. I don’t mind the smell of “fresh” cigarettes, being an ex-smoker, but the stale lingering cigarette smell isn’t very nice at all. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/26 "2014-04-20T12:45:44Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > School teachers used to smoke in class? What grade or age level was this? All of them. Smoking used to be a ubiquitous activity. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/27 "2014-04-20T12:49:48Z")
I smoked for years and while smoking, of course you could smoke in my house, you could also smoke in my car, BUT there was no smoking in the back seat. Smokers in the back seat always meant burn holes. My last several cars I haven’t smoked in (even while I was smoking). No one else was allowed to smoke in them either. I didn’t want them to smell. The house I’m in now has never been smoked in. Even when I smoked, I always went outside. If you want to smoke you can go outside. Even if I have the occasional cigarette, I’ll go outside. You can, however, just go out to the attached garage if you want. It was really nice when, after 5 years of living here, I figured out I could just do that. It made a world of difference on 5 degree windy days. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/28 "2014-04-20T12:57:30Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > I don’t even want them smoking outside - that stench lingers. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I said yes but only if outside. I’m not sure I’d even allow that anymore. You two wouldn’t let someone smoke outdoors? You’ll have to explain that to me. I feel like I’m missing something. Is it just that you don’t want someone coming into your house that has the smell of smoke on their breath and clothes? Do you just not like the smell in the air? Are you just that offended that someone would do something you don’t like? I’m not sure how I’d feel if I got up to go outside for a cigarette and the homeowner said “I’m sorry, I don’t allow smoking outside”. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/29 "2014-04-20T13:32:11Z")
I smoke cigars outside. I think I only know 3 other people that smoke. My brother and his wife are smokers with no kids, and he doesn’t smoke in his own home. They go outside. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/30 "2014-04-20T13:36:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > All of them. > > Smoking used to be a ubiquitous activity. That must have varied by location. I’m old enough to remember when smoking was allowed in all sorts of places in no longer is- including schools. But the teachers smoked in the lounge, not while they were actually teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/31 "2014-04-20T13:46:02Z")
No smoking in our house. And we have no indoor pets, as they will _also_ make a house stink. I hate stinky homes. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/32 "2014-04-20T14:06:17Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > That must have varied by location. I’m old enough to remember when smoking was allowed in all sorts of places in no longer is- including schools. But the teachers smoked in the lounge, not while they were actually teaching. Same for me, teachers might have smoked in their offices but nobody smoked in class, ever. Personal office or outside (not even in the inner, cloister-like yards). Some of my classmates took up smoking for no other reason that it was “cool”. Others heard that specific reason, gave it some thought and replied with “Bogart doesn’t smoke, are you saying he’s not cool?” (Bogart being the nickname of the coolest teacher in the school). Students knew which were smoking offices and which were not, Bogart’s wasn’t. The few times I’ve had someone ask to smoke in my house my response has been “door closed, window open”; I always live in apartments and the people asking have usually been tradesmen, so making them go outside wouldn’t have made much sense but not letting them smoke would have led to them having the jitters… I don’t really think I want the guy changing my kitchen’s pipes to be thinking about how hard he wants a smoke. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/33 "2014-04-20T14:19:51Z")
Couple of friends do at their homes - batchelor types, funny smokes usually - chilling out watching football, listening to music. Otherwise as per the OP, probably not anywhere inside for a decade. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/34 "2014-04-20T14:32:30Z")
I don’t much care–it’s not like it comes up much at all. Most of the smokers I know smoke outside. When I was a smoker, I generally smoked outside, but every once in awhile, we’d have a party and smoke inside. If, today, I had a good friend come over and ask, I’d let them smoke inside, but the likelihood is they’d go outside for a smoke because that’s more-or-less the social norm now. To me, the smell goes away pretty quickly and I don’t really mind it so much. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/35 "2014-04-20T14:54:22Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Paradoxically, I am very opposed to state smoking bans for businesses. I \*strongly \*believe that private businesses ought to be allowed to set their own smoking policy, and let the free market prevail. I don’t agree - it’s easy for the customer part of the market to vote with their feet, not so easy for the employees. I don’t believe people choosing not to breathe smoke should mean they have to seek employment elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/36 "2014-04-20T15:00:11Z")
I wouldn’t, but no one has ever asked. I’ve had lots of friends who smoke, they would all automatically go outside to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/37 "2014-04-20T15:29:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think your situation is a bit different - you’re a smoker - letting someone else smoke in your home is no big deal if you already do it yourself. Perhaps, but non-smoking friends here let smoking guests smoke in their homes without it fasing them. Some do not, and one respects that. But I couldn’t really ever count an _ **anti** _-smoker as a friend. There are plenty of people in the world: it is best to choose one’s friends wisely. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/38 "2014-04-20T15:30:40Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Paradoxically, I am very opposed to state smoking bans for businesses. I \*strongly \*believe that private businesses ought to be allowed to set their own smoking policy, and let the free market prevail. When an attempt was made by a local county to outlaw smoking in bars, I helped a friend (a bar owner) fight the law. The law was rescinded. My friend immediately made his place nonsmoking, which I (a non user of tobacco) appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/39 "2014-04-20T15:46:21Z")
Nope, no way. If someone can’t wait any more, they can go to the garden. I don’t even have ashtrays. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535/40 "2014-04-20T15:54:06Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Scotland, mid-late 1970s, all ages as I recall. Similar background to me, although I don’t remember any teachers smoking in the classroom, the headmaster of my primary school used to wander the buildings puffing on his pipe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-let-people-smoke-in-your-home/686535.md?page=3)