# How can you tell if someone is a smoker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787 "2005-02-18T20:50:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/21 "2005-02-22T01:42:12Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > They look older and IMHO the skin seems to be wrinkled in a certain way but I couldn’t tell you exactly what I’m spotting. One thing I’ve noticed is that smokers, especially heavy smokers, tend to have more of those up-and-down wrinkles above their upper lip. Everyone develops those over time, but smokers tend to have more, deeper wrinkles there. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/22 "2005-02-22T01:42:37Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Cigarette smoke is rather pleasant smelling if you’re neutral about it. To me, the smell of cigarette smoke that has settled into hair, clothes, furniture, etc. is far ranker than the smell of “fresh” smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/23 "2005-02-22T04:51:27Z")
Years and years ago I worked side-by-side, daily, with a non-smoker boss who never realized I was a smoker until he saw me lighting up one day. I didn’t even use breath mints. My current roommate has a barrage (yes, I use that word intentionally) of medical problems, one of which involves certain smells causing various adverse effects in him. One of those smells is cigarette smoke smell. He apparently never noticed that I smoked (I was going outside to be polite) until three weeks after I moved in when I mentioned it. Once I mentioned it, he started exhibiting his “symptoms” and complaining about the smell. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/24 "2005-02-22T05:31:19Z")
May I point out a logical fallacy to all those who are insisting that they can “always” tell a smoker? If there was someone who, through frequent bathing, hairwashing, cleaning of clothes, mouthwash use, witchcraft, or whatever, was successful at masking the smoke smell, you couldn’t _by definition_ tell. Despite your high opinion of your powers of olfactory detection, you may be missing some smokers, but it is in the nature of the situation that you’d never know about your failures unless someone you hadn’t suspected suddenly lit up. (On preview, I see that **Phase42** has considerately provided a validation of my point. Thanks, **Phase42**.) ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/25 "2005-02-22T05:34:04Z")
I agree 100%. The smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the air is different from the smell of smoke on a person. I don’t know why it is, but if you take a cigarette and stub the heater off so you can smoke the rest later, that stub will smell horrible and a lot worse than an ashtray smells. I have no idea why since it’s the same thing. The only way I can explain the difference to a smoker, is that the “bad” smoker smell is like that half smoked cigarette. It’s like that smell is all over you and nonsmokers almost need to step back. I love smokers though. I am an ex smoker and I don’t think anyone should feel guilty for smoking. One thing I noticed when I quit smoking is that a lot of people smell bad in many different ways. Some people smell scary as hell and I wish they’d start smoking so they’d smell like something my mind can comprehend. So it evens out. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/26 "2005-02-22T05:38:48Z")
Oops I missed 2 posts. I agreed 100% with **zagloba** , though I agree with the other 2 posters too…if you can’t tell you don’t know you can’t. Many times people told me “wow I can’t believe you smoke” when they’d known me a while and I wasn’t making any effort to hide it. Everyones nose is different. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/27 "2005-02-22T05:49:43Z")
I’ve fallen off the wagon and suspect most people have guessed, though I haven’t told them. Why? Because during my three years quit, I could sure tell who smoked and who didn’t. The smell was the most obvious–yes, it really does cling to the smoker, and it’s in your hair and lungs and skin. But also the face and the voice. This is more evident in women, I agree, but there’s a “smoker’s face” – characteristic wrinkling around the mouth and other fine lines, and a certain pallor to the skin. And the deeper, almost gravelly voice. And of course, our coughing. I saw a clear picture of Laura Bush during the first presidential race, and I thought to myself “She’s a smoker.” (Or was.) I had to Google to confirm, but I was right. I was in the mouth-wrinkles, mostly, but I could tell. I gotta quit again. It’s a habit you really can’t hide, though we who smoke, believe we can. You just can’t smell it on yourself as a smoker, but when you quit… Yes, I agree, one becomes hyper-aware of the scent and signals. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2005, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/28 "2005-02-22T10:55:45Z")
I’ll grant that I’m not 100% in sniffing out the smokers - there’s always an exception - but there are a lot fewer stealth smokers out there than people who are olofactory banner carriers ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/29 "2005-02-22T11:26:13Z")
It’s usually easy to spot a non-smoker; their breath is a combination of meaty healthy-throat smell, combined with that of their last meal. You may also notice a certain stressed hunch to their posture, and a tendency to constantly eat. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/30 "2005-02-22T11:29:14Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > May I point out a logical fallacy to all those who are insisting that they can “always” tell a smoker? If there was someone who, through frequent bathing, hairwashing, cleaning of clothes, mouthwash use, witchcraft, or whatever, was successful at masking the smoke smell, you couldn’t _by definition_ tell. Usually, if they smoke inside their own home, these tricks won’t work. I used to have a friend who never smoked herself, but her parents were smokers. Even though she bathed daily, washed her clothes regularly, and was a clean person, you would have sworn she was a chain smoker–she stank that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2005, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787/31 "2005-02-22T11:42:22Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > May I point out a logical fallacy to all those who are insisting that they can “always” tell a smoker? If there was someone who, through frequent bathing, hairwashing, cleaning of clothes, mouthwash use, witchcraft, or whatever, was successful at masking the smoke smell, you couldn’t _by definition_ tell. If you have long hair, you’d need to wash it after every cigarette to get rid of the smell. I used to be a heavy smoker (20 a day), and one of the reason’s I quit was because I realised if the smell of stale smoke in my hair was that unpleasant to me, it must’ve been ten times worse for anyone else who got close to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-someone-is-a-smoker/290787.md?page=1)