# Smokers stink. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 26, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378 "2010-04-26T05:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lunchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Lunchy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunchy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/21 "2010-04-26T09:11:40Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > So… how’s about you quit whining like a little bitch? I’m sure no one wants to look at your ugly face or listen to your advice on how to beat the cancer or smell your disgusting cologne or watch your fat rolls jiggle as you hobble to the elevator to go up one floor, or deal with whatever other annoying habit you no doubt have. > > Quit being a hypersensitive git and move on, or grow a set and tell the person who smokes instead of getting on the internet and posting about it, looking for validation. > > Dipshit. Haha, he is bitchin’ about something that happens in real life on the internet. Your bitchin’ about him bitchin’ on the internet, on the internet! Classic. Someone needs a little perspective! ---
**Author:** ![Lunchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Lunchy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunchy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/22 "2010-04-26T09:21:19Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Here’s an idea for those upset by tobacco smoke - put plugs up your nostrils and keep your gob shut. Yea, while your at it, stop showering, and stop using deodorant. No? Guess not everyone is an inconsiderate prick! ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/23 "2010-04-26T11:17:43Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > If all you can do is cry about me being a big old meaning… Interesting typo… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/24 "2010-04-26T11:25:17Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > Wow, my post sure brought out all the mental deficients. Clearly they think of you as a bellwether. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/25 "2010-04-26T12:30:57Z")
> [@Lunchy](#): > > Yea, while your at it, stop showering, and stop using deodorant. No? Guess not everyone is an inconsiderate prick! Yes, because refusing to engage in proper hygiene is EXACTLY like smoking. I do my best to mitigate the smell of smoke coming off of me because I’m a smoker and I also don’t like the reeking scent of clinging smoke. I don’t smoke in my house because I don’t want anything to smell like it. A friend’s daughter decided to try out her new perfume in my house and I thought I was going to fuckin’ die from the cloying sweetness fuming through my kitchen… think that was ACTIVELY rude, and perfume’s not addictive. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/26 "2010-04-26T12:52:25Z")
> [@Hamadryad](#): > > Yes, because refusing to engage in proper hygiene is EXACTLY like smoking. You are correct that it’s not quite as bad as smoking. Some people can’t help the way they smell. There are, however, plenty of odor-free methods of delivering nicotine to the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/27 "2010-04-26T13:00:35Z")
I also hate books that smell like nictone/smoke. I bought some of eBay once and they totally reeked. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/28 "2010-04-26T13:17:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > One aspect of stricter smoking laws in the last few years is that when a smoker comes inside after his nic-fix, the reek of his clothing is especially sudden and intrusive and unpleasant. I guess ten or fifteen years back I was constantly surrounded and became desensitized, much like the smokers themselves. When I was a child in the '70s, both my parents smoked 2-3 packs a day. I vaguely remember a slightly stale smokey smell to the house, but nothing more. Apparently we grew accustomed to what must have been a horrid stench. The walls that had originally been some off-white color sported a nice beige patina (and don’t ever scrub a stain on the wall or you will end up having to scrub the entire wall). I only really smelled the smoke in cloth items such as carpeting and heavy curtains. These days, all I need to do is visit a friend who is a smoker and my wife knows where I was when I get home. When my mom sends me a package for Christmas, everything in it has a strong stale cigarette smell. I imagine that when I was little, my brother and I must have reeked of cigarette smoke wherever we went—everyone must have known we were from a smoking home. Of course, in the Seventies everyone’s folks smoked so maybe nobody noticed. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/29 "2010-04-26T13:23:26Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I like how you opened the thread just to get annoyed. It’s like hanging around someone’s asshole waiting for them to fart. This is perfect. 😛 May I quote you? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/30 "2010-04-26T13:27:36Z")
Perhaps next April 1st when the SDMB rejoices in that time-honored tradition of renaming forums for a day “The Pit” can aptly display the monniker “Someone’s Asshole.” ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/31 "2010-04-26T13:28:48Z")
> [@ivn1188](#): > > No, just tired of passive agressive retards hopping on the internet to bitch about someone smelling like smoke. If this is the sort of thing that motivates you to log on to a message board and post about it, you need to read some fucking current events or something. The person reeking of smoke may not be a smoker. I grew up in a household where my parents were 1950s-style smokers, complete with huge ashtrays on every flat surface, and nicotine-stained everything. Everything was an excuse to light up; phone rings, taking a shit, and so on. Even though I didn’t smoke, my clothes _reeked_. When I returned from a visit, my suitcase would smell like an ashtray. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/32 "2010-04-26T14:05:21Z")
For some reason everybody who works on their own cars must be a rabid chain smoker. I avoid the whole aisle in the stacks where the Chilton manuals are, because they _reek_. Urgh. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/33 "2010-04-26T14:24:10Z")
Yeah, smokers stink. They know they stink, it’s not a huge secret that cigarettes smell bad and the people that smoke them smell bad after engaging in one. More than likely, they’re a bit self conscious of the fact that they stink so pointing it out is more likely to make you look like a jerk than them. I used to smoke and was really self conscious about it (eventually, enough to finally quit.) I knew I was one of the only ones in my office that smoked. I used to sneak out and literally hide behind some bushes so no one would see me smoke (easier than listening to stupid lectures from every passerby.) I’d then BOLT from the lobby to my office and shut the door so no one would smell me. I’d avoid smoking in public unless there were very few people around that would actually have to smell it (and who could walk away if they did.) I was hyper vigilant about not bothering others with my nasty habit. Didn’t matter, there were still jerks who jumped at the chance to feel morally superior to a nasty smoker and would make comments, cough loudly, ect. In my opinion, militant anti-smokers are way bigger jerks than smokers are. No matter, eventually there will be no more smokers and everyone can move on to chastising obese people. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/34 "2010-04-26T14:36:50Z")
Hey, I’ve never told a smoker he smelled. I know it would be rude and hurtful, so I’ve never done it, any more than I’ve made nasty comments to fat coworkers who snack all day long. But sometimes the irritation builds up to the point I have to let it out. Isn’t venting one of the time honored uses for the pit? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/35 "2010-04-26T14:38:32Z")
> [@Hamadryad](#): > > Yes, because refusing to engage in proper hygiene is EXACTLY like smoking. I know you’re being sarcastic, but I just can’t come up with a reason that smoking ISN’T refusal to engage in proper hygiene. > [@lezlers](#): > > eventually there will be no more smokers and everyone can move on to chastising obese people. One can only hope. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/36 "2010-04-26T14:40:32Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > This is perfect. 😛 May I quote you? Please do. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/37 "2010-04-26T14:40:44Z")
I’m a non-smoker. Yes smokers do have a bit of an aroma, especially if its immediately afterward. However, I am absolutely sick of all the smoking ban nonsense that the silliness in this thread encourages. Just last week, Wellmark (BC/BS) made it a corporate policy that not only could their employees not smoke within 100 yards (or was it feet?) of the building, now their employees are not allowed to smoke on their unpaid lunch breaks. Ok - you want to stop them from smoking on their paid breaks, I can just barely see that dickish move being ok. But you know what fuck-knobs, if they aren’t on your clock, you should not have the right to dictate their behavior for a completely legal activity, that is not occurring on your property. (of course since its a corporation, they have the right to do that shit, but it really pisses me off.) And of course, the assholes supporting this change are the people that whine like the OP. “Smokers are smelly”, “oh noes - third hand smoke”. (OP - in all fairness I don’t know where you would stand on that type of corporate behavior, but the supporters sure whine an awful lot like you are in this thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/38 "2010-04-26T14:53:42Z")
@ otternell - if it was just a matter of smell, I doubt policies would have changed. We both know smoke causes other problems to those who smoke and those who are subject to the smoke. Get over it and go smoke in a hole somewhere and you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/39 "2010-04-26T15:39:54Z")
I do believe it’s a simple matter of courtesy. There are ways that smokers can choose not to bother others, but some would rather rant about their “rights” instead. I sat next to a smoker at work for about a year, though I never would have guessed if I didn’t already know it. Whatever she did before coming back from a break - washing, breath mints, whatever - was sufficient to eradicate the odor enough so that I didn’t notice it. I definitely appreciated her efforts, and told her so. There’s a guy at work now, you can tell when he’s within 20 feet by his constant cloud of stench. The OP’s not pitting smokers, just inconsiderate ones. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378/40 "2010-04-26T15:41:43Z")
[QUOTE=Morgenstern;12385267.] Get over it and go smoke in a hole somewhere and you’ll be fine. [/QUOTE] He just said he’s not a smoker. I don’t think the fact that smokers tend to stink is that big of a deal. Everyone has something about them that is offending someone. We can all get over it. And I don’t buy these so called ‘health problems’ that folks claim they have just because they happen to walk past someone that smoked a cigarette outside. I call bullshit on those ‘health problems’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smokers-stink/537378.md?page=3)