# Stop smoking in the dorm! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969 "2008-11-16T05:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/61 "2008-11-17T15:48:14Z")
> [@villa](#): > > So when non smokers don’t complain about smokers, it is because they are scared of being ridiculed by pompous blowhard smokers. When smokers don’t complain about having to go outside it is because they mind smoking outside. > > Methinks you are using somewhat of a double standard here. Not quite. I am hypothesizing that much of the reason that nobody complained about smokers decades ago is that smoking was an accepted practice and people knew that they wouldn’t get anywhere. I am also hypothesizing that the people who smoke nowadays and don’t complain about smoking outside may, in fact, not mind going outside to do it. Obviously you guys do mind going outside, and if I knew you in real life I would have said that some people I knew did complain about it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/62 "2008-11-17T15:49:01Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Do recall that apart from saying that I don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke, I haven’t said word one about hating smoking. > What decision am I making for them? If they want a non-smoking dorm, fine, they’re free to ask for one. I won’t stand in their way. I don’t give a flying fuck if there is one or not. I’m simply stating that _in my opinion_, it would not be particularly productive to have a smoking dorm, since nobody I know has ever expressed any irritation at having to go outside to smoke, even when it was bitterly cold and we were all about to go inside. I stayed outside with them while they finished their cigarettes, even, because I was enjoying the conversation. They don’t complain because it doesn’t do any good and they don’thave any choice about it. Do you honestly think they’d still go outside if they didn’t have to? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/63 "2008-11-17T15:52:37Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Not quite. I am hypothesizing that much of the reason that nobody complained about smokers decades ago is that smoking was an accepted practice and people knew that they wouldn’t get anywhere. I am also hypothesizing that the people who smoke nowadays and don’t complain about smoking outside may, in fact, not mind going outside to do it. Obviously you guys do mind going outside, and if I knew you in real life I would have said that some people I knew did complain about it. I can tell you with absolute confidence and first hand knowledge almost all smokers mind. They don’t mind all the time. Sometimes they _like_ going outside, but the inability to EVER stay inside is annoying to all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/64 "2008-11-17T15:52:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > They don’t complain because it doesn’t do any good and they don’t have any choice about it. I find it somewhat hard to believe that teenagers wouldn’t complain about something even knowing that it would be pointless. And don’t tell me it’s the same situation as non-smokers in the fifties or whenever; it’s a different culture. People aren’t expected to go along with the crowd quite as much. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Do you honestly think they’d still go outside if they didn’t have to? Probably not in the winter, no, but I think some people would appreciate that many non-smokers would prefer that their belongings not reek of smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/65 "2008-11-17T15:54:10Z")
Yes, smokers love that kind of self-importance in non-smokers and never mind at all. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/66 "2008-11-17T16:00:17Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Yes, because A) it’s not someone’s home, it’s a rented room in a shared building, and B) smoke is not easily contained by doors, especially in buildings with crappy heating systems that spread air from one room to the next, and C) in our state smoking is not allowed in any public buildings, which a dorm (arguably) falls under. So is an apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/67 "2008-11-17T16:13:18Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Yes, smokers love that kind of self-importance in non-smokers and never mind at all. Yeah, that’s exactly what I said. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [November 17, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/68 "2008-11-17T16:26:32Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Yes, because A) it’s not someone’s home, it’s a rented room in a shared building, and B) smoke is not easily contained by doors, especially in buildings with crappy heating systems that spread air from one room to the next, and C) in our state smoking is not allowed in any public buildings, which a dorm (arguably) falls under. So, call the cops. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/69 "2008-11-17T16:31:35Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Not quite. I am hypothesizing that much of the reason that nobody complained about smokers decades ago is that smoking was an accepted practice and people knew that they wouldn’t get anywhere. I am also hypothesizing that the people who smoke nowadays and don’t complain about smoking outside may, in fact, not mind going outside to do it. Obviously you guys do mind going outside, and if I knew you in real life I would have said that some people I knew did complain about it. This is utterly ridiculous backpedalling. and this isn’t about me - I am not a student at Virginia Tech, not have I ever been. I just find the whole thing very amusing that, because of total smoking bans, people like the OP are exposed to smoke where they would not have to be if people were willing to compromise. It’s also more and more evident to me that part of the problem is that college students in the US are treated like children, not adults. I am always amazed by the plethora of RA’s and TA’s and Student Activity Coordinators and the like. For God’s sake, you are a grown up, you are living away from home. If there is a problem, if you want something organized, don’t run looking for authority - sort it out yourselves! And that isn’t directed at the OP, who says she did try to sort it out herself first. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/70 "2008-11-17T16:37:09Z")
**villa** , in what way am I backpedalling? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/71 "2008-11-17T16:42:24Z")
You are backpedalling because on the one hand you talked about pompous blowhard smokers making it impossible for non smokers to speak up, then on the other hand assume that smokers skip outside in the winter happily because they don’t speack up. You then come back to justify this inconsistency with a frankly ridiculous story that everyone you know who smokes has told you they don’t mind going outside, and you would of course change your opinion if other smokers told you different. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/72 "2008-11-17T16:46:47Z")
> [@villa](#): > > You are backpedalling because on the one hand you talked about pompous blowhard smokers making it impossible for non smokers to speak up, then on the other hand assume that smokers skip outside in the winter happily because they don’t speak up. Did you miss the part where I explicitly stated that those are two different situations, with different rules applying to them? > [@villa](#): > > You then come back to justify this inconsistency with a frankly ridiculous story that everyone you know who smokes has told you they don’t mind going outside, and you would of course change your opinion if other smokers told you different. Horseshit.I said that nobody I knew had said anything, not that they had all said they didn’t mind, and if a smoker I knew in real life told me that he minded going outside, I would say that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/73 "2008-11-17T16:55:32Z")
I’m going to have a cigarette. Not in my house, though. The wifey would kill me. Perhaps I should lend her to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/74 "2008-11-17T17:06:43Z")
Just had to chime in how odd some of my kids’ dorm regs - including no smoking - seemed to a parent who lived in dorms back in the 70s. Was no issue at all about cigarettes, and I never really understood the whole “towel-under-the-door-for-pot” thing as we never even bothered to close the door. Wonder how things will have changed when your kids are in college? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/75 "2008-11-17T17:28:06Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Wonder how things will have changed when your kids are in college? 😛 [Eddie Izzard] No smoking… and soon no drinking and talking _in bars_! [/EI] ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/76 "2008-11-17T17:32:08Z")
Do people still piss off the balconies or is that considered “rude” now too? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/77 "2008-11-17T17:37:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Do people still piss off the balconies or is that considered “rude” now too? I dunno about apartments, but dorms at Tech have no balconies. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/78 "2008-11-17T18:10:41Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Did you miss the part where I explicitly stated that those are two different situations, with different rules applying to them? Of course they are different situations with different rules applying. If they weren’t you would be being utterly inconsistent. Convenient for you, that. > [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Horseshit.I said that nobody I knew had said anything, not that they had all said they didn’t mind, and if a smoker I knew in real life told me that he minded going outside, I would say that. And this is the very heart of the horseshit. You are willing to read into smokers not saying anything that they have no problem with a situation; when non-smokers don’t say something it is becaue they are oppressed. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/79 "2008-11-17T18:26:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > [Eddie Izzard] No smoking… and soon no drinking and talking _in bars_! [/EI] I used to spend A LOT of time in bars. Gave up smoking 20+ years ago, drinking 4 or so. Went out the other day to see a show in a club (The Blasters - they ROCKED!). It was so incredibly weird to be in a bar seeing a show without a thick haze of smoke. Incredibly nice, but weird as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/80 "2008-11-17T19:13:43Z")
“Home of the Phillies” is in the goddamn desert? 😕 As for the OP, I totally understand you… If the dorm had an upfront rule that smoking was prohibited, then one would have the EXPECTATION that the rule would be adhered to and enforced. It was probably one of the OP’s deciding factors for living in the dorm. I don’t give a rat’s ass what kind of building it is…if it advertised as no smoking and the OP spent money to live there, then it should be actionable. No reasoning, no “Get over it, it’s a dorm” excuses. Has nothing to do with how dangerous or smelly second hand smoke is…it has everything to do with the policy that dorm had set out and made known to all parties. If I choose to walk in a building that allows smoking (i.e - a casino), I either choose to deal with the smoke or not enter it, and I understand that complaining will fall on deaf ears or more likely earn a “Fuck you” with smoke blown in my face…and rightfully so. That is where I am considerate towards smokers…same should go when it’s reversed. Being inconsiderate and ignoring policies is not cool or cute, it’s just plain inconsiderate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969.md?page=5)