# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/121 "2008-11-18T22:50:53Z")
Can I just point out that my dorm inadvertently found another minor problem with allowing smoking? Small fires may or may not trigger the smoke detectors, as we couldn’t use the most sensitive ones available–they’d be tripped by cigarette smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/122 "2008-11-19T00:36:32Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > I have never, and will never, understand this hate people feel towards smoke. Strong BO and more than a hint of perfume are, imo, worse. Much worse. Those things aren’t illegal though, nor do I want them to be. I simply avoid them. Dude. Cigarette smoke smells like ass. It’s annoying and nauseating. It’s just as unappealing as the odor of shit. Plus it has the added bonus of sticking to your hair and clothes, making you smell bad. In addition, it’s a carcinogen. Even if you don’t think it smells bad, the sticky factor and the cancer factor add up to trump anything else. It’s common sense. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/123 "2008-11-19T03:19:47Z")
> [@nyctea scandiaca](#): > > Dude. Cigarette smoke smells like ass. It’s annoying and nauseating. It’s just as unappealing as the odor of shit. Dude. You might want to consider that your opinion on this is not an indisputable fact. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/124 "2008-11-19T06:39:54Z")
[QUOTE= NinjaChick] _sigh_ Does it make me a sanctimonious bitch to whine about how immature many of my peers are? [/QUOTE] Just remember that they’ve all got the same gripe about you. And they’re just as right as you are. ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/125 "2008-11-19T06:57:24Z")
> [@ntucker](#): > > Dude. You might want to consider that your opinion on this is not an indisputable fact. Dude that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. Even if you personally don’t think smoke is stinky, it is pervasive, and it gets into everything; your clothes, your hair, the furniture… Smokers’ houses and cars are stink sinks. Maybe they can’t tell because they’ve become used to it, maybe they can’t tell because they’ve burned out their smell receptors, but the funkiness is there. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/126 "2008-11-19T08:07:41Z")
> [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](#): > > Dude that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. You’re not too bright, are you? The statement I quoted made these claims: [ul][li] cigarette smoke smells like ass[/li][li] cigarette smoke is annoying[/li][li] cigarette smoke is just as unappealing as the odor of shit[/li][/ul] Those are opinions. And come on. Just as unappealing as shit? Pure histrionics. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/127 "2008-11-19T12:30:46Z")
> [@ntucker](#): > > Those are opinions. And come on. Just as unappealing as shit? Pure histrionics. I’m just speaking for myself here, but personally I’d rather smell shit. (That used to be different, but I’m not used to it since my father quit.) It also doesn’t aggravate my sinuses. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/128 "2008-11-19T12:56:58Z")
I’m getting tired of the people who perpetrate the myth that smokers constantly smell; unless you’re wearing unwashed, unaired clothes constantly and smoke in them, it’s perfectly possible to smell fresh even as a smoker. Sure, you’ve got to be a bit careful, particularly about your coats and sleeves, but I’d put $20 on that not a third of you rabid, hyperbolic cumstains could tell I smoke by being around me when I was actually not smoking. Yeah, the “friends” you have had who smoked probably didn’t care enough to take care of themselves or their clothing. Tough. ---
**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 19, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/129 "2008-11-19T19:35:02Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > I’m getting tired of the people who perpetrate the myth that smokers constantly smell; unless you’re wearing unwashed, unaired clothes constantly and smoke in them, it’s perfectly possible to smell fresh even as a smoker. Sure, you’ve got to be a bit careful, particularly about your coats and sleeves, but I’d put $20 on that not a third of you rabid, hyperbolic cumstains could tell I smoke by being around me when I was actually not smoking. > > Yeah, the “friends” you have had who smoked probably didn’t care enough to take care of themselves or their clothing. Tough. When I go to Vegas for a day or two, and change my clothes and shower every day, pack up my suitcase with the dirty laundry, go home and take the suitcase directly to my laundry room to start my laundry, open the dirty laundry bag to take out the clothes, the first thing I smell is the residue of cigarette smoke. I even smell it after being in a casino for just a few hours when I hop in my car and smell it on my sleeves as I am driving. To call it a myth says more about your accustomed ability to not notice cigarette smoke residue more than us being “rabid, hyperbolic cumstains”. Your POV or better yet, your POS (Smell) is skewed. And as for your bet, shooting for better than 66.7% success rate would not be as great of an achievement as you advertised. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/130 "2008-11-19T20:22:24Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Either way, since a contract was signed, and **NinjaChick** is paying for a NO SMOKING DORM, why should she have to suffer, when she’s not the one breaking the rules? Why should a smoker suffer, when they’re not even given the choice between NO SMOKING, and SMOKING dorms? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/131 "2008-11-19T22:14:00Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Why should a smoker suffer, when they’re not even given the choice between NO SMOKING, and SMOKING dorms? …because they chose to live in a non-smoking dorm? No one is required to live on-campus. In fact, there is a housing shortage on-campus. If you want to be able to smoke in your room, then you cannot live on-campus. It’s not suffering, it’s abiding by the terms of a contract you voluntarily and knowingly entered into. ---
**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 19, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/132 "2008-11-19T22:23:23Z")
Whining about contracts is a waste of time. Your only real choices are either to get over it, or to get a job and move off campus. You will face greater adversity in life than being able to smell traces of cigarette smoke in a hallway. Save your powder for something that matters. ---
**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 19, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/133 "2008-11-19T22:29:50Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Whining about contracts is a waste of time. Isn’t that kind of the point of the Pit? ---
**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 20, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/134 "2008-11-20T00:07:44Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Whining about contracts is a waste of time. Your only real choices are either to get over it, or to get a job and move off campus. You will face greater adversity in life than being able to smell traces of cigarette smoke in a hallway. Save your powder for something that matters. Gee, **Dio** …why the hell are there contracts in the first place if it’s just “a waste of time”? Why bother drawing one up and just go by word of mouth? Let’s save some trees and ink and have everyone spit in their hands and shake. That’s good enough, right? Just make sure both parties remembered what they agreed upon so if something comes up, their crystal clear memories can recall what they spit and shook on, even if it’s years down the road. Hmmm… Hey, maybe memorizing all that stuff and recalling it from memory would be a major pain in the ass…better write it down. Gee, I guess it wasn’t such a waste of time after all. ---
**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 20, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969/135 "2008-11-20T00:31:48Z")
I’m not saying contracts should be ignored, I’m saying that IN THIS CASE, complaining about it is pissing in the wind. Yeah, they signed agreements that they woudn’t smoke, but it’s not something that’s ever going to be very well enforced. College kids break dorm rules. Dorms suck. That’s life. It’s not going to change. If you’re going to live on campus, you’re going to have to accept that no one’s going to abide by the rules. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-smoking-in-the-dorm/472969.md?page=6)