# What do (or should) Non-smokers wave? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718 "2006-09-07T00:11:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/1 "2006-09-07T00:11:04Z")
Everybody knows about waving lighters at concerts, but what about the poor non-smokers, whose numbers increase daily? Somehow waving a roll of Mentos to _Free Bird_ seems…well, odd. Surely, there must be something equally hip and cool for the nicotine-deprived to wave… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/2 "2006-09-07T00:15:27Z")
Do you have to show your Smokers Club Card to carry a lighter now? Damn, smokers really are being ghettoized. (Does “ghettoized” count as Godwinning the thread?) ---
**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:** [September 7, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/3 "2006-09-07T00:17:48Z")
If you don’t smoke, you ain’t rock and roll. What were you doing there anyway? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/4 "2006-09-07T00:20:41Z")
Um… I don’t smoke, so I just wave my crack torch 😉 Seriously, since when do only smokers carry lighters? You never know when a nylon rope needs to have its end cauterized, or candles will need to be light for a romantic dinner. If you’re going to a concert, grab a lighter on the way. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/5 "2006-09-07T00:23:08Z")
And by “light” I meant “lit”. I speak English, I swear. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/6 "2006-09-07T00:27:11Z")
[BBQ lighters?](http://www.bbqguys.com/item_Weber-9006-Matchless_Flame_path_7116-7187-7217_item_1725.html) ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/7 "2006-09-07T00:28:03Z")
My sister told me that at a recent U2 concert, Bono encouraged everyone in the audience to hold up their cellphones. She said the whole place lit up. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/8 "2006-09-07T00:30:25Z")
I was just about to say, you clearly haven’t been to a concert in a while. Last one I went to, I was the only one with a lighter. Nobody smokes anymore.\* Everyone has a cell phone.\*\* \*Except me. \*\*Except me. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/9 "2006-09-07T00:41:52Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] I was just about to say, you clearly haven’t been to a concert in a while. Last one I went to, I was the only one with a lighter. Nobody smokes anymore.\* Everyone has a cell phone.\*\* \*Except me. \*\*Except me. [/QUOTE] I smoke, but also have a cell phone. Then again, I haven’t been to many concerts since the smoking question was what, not whether… ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/10 "2006-09-07T01:07:45Z")
Well, I was at a rock concert composed entirely of Mormon women (yes, it was a little odd to me too, and I AM Mormon), and the whole place was lit up with cellphones. I miss every concert trend! I never had a lighter and I don’t have a cool cellphone either! Boo. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/11 "2006-09-07T15:56:20Z")
I was at a Blink 182 concert and they had everyone hold their mobiles up too. Very cool to look at. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/12 "2006-09-07T15:58:51Z")
How about we compromise between the new and old trends and light our cell phones on fire? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/13 "2006-09-07T16:02:54Z")
Open a cell phone in a theatre and the other theatre goers will gladly set it on fire for you! And let’s not forget those “fireflies” with the Instant Text Messaging. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/14 "2006-09-07T18:39:18Z")
I carry lighters in my purse pretty much specifically for going to concerts. Of course, I often leave my purse at home and only bring the cards/cash I need for the concert, so I often forget the lighter… but that’s what the mini Coleman LED lantern and the LED flashlight on my keychain are for! Concert Light Without Lighters! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-or-should-non-smokers-wave/371718/15 "2006-09-07T18:44:34Z")
One could also purchase a $5 glowstick which would be conveniently sold at every single concession stand and by roaming vendors.