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Those who don't smoke, does every smoker smell bad to you?
Removed: Shilling IVYes, absolutely.
100% of the time. It ranges from bad, to really bad, to omg I'm going to vomit.
I once had the loveliest co-worker who was also a smoker. She never really smelled horrible, but you could tell she smoked some. Then one day she brought in some food.
It tasted like I was sitting down to a warm bowl of old ash tray. I choked down what I could to be nice in front of her, then nearly vomited after she walked off. After this I always made sure to totally avoid her when I knew she was bringing food, or have an excuse why I couldn't eat.
What was the food item?
Ash- chicken with a side of filters
I feel like it was pudding or something. It's been almost 20 years since this happened.
I totally don’t understand this? I’ve never heard of cigarette smoke permeating food…especially with someone who is seemingly aware enough of the smell that she masks it well
I hadn't heard of this either. I cannot imagine how much she must smoke at home for this to happen. Especially given that she never smelled like a heavy smoker.
She either smokes inside or didn't wash her hands after smoking and started prepping food.
I had an uncle that smoked his entire life. I'm talking yellowed home interior walls from so much smoke type smoker.
He had come into a huge sale of butter for some reason so he bought a bunch and given my mom some because he had so much. I'm talking the sticks of butter that everybody stores in their freezers.
My mom promptly made my brother and I some macaroni and cheese with it, and the butter from him alone made the entire finished product taste like an ashtray. It was unbelievable.
So, yes, not only does it permeate food but evidently it permeates sealed freezers too lol.
Omg that’s so gross!!! And I smoke!
I grew up in a chain-smoker house. I hated going to high school. I can't believe I got a girlfriend. Her mother smoking was the only reason I got to go to her house.
My best friend's ex chain-smoked in the house. Whenever I'd go visit, I'd pack two bags. One contained ONLY the clothes I planned on wearing while I was there, and the other stayed in my car. They lived 8 hours away from me, so I would stop at my parents' house which was about halfway between us, and shower, wash my hair, throw the smoky crap into the washer, and put on the untainted clothes.
The worst part was that her ex would say "Oh, does the smoke bother you? I can open a window" like the whole house wasn't already permeated and brown.
I'm off sigarettes for a little over 2 months now and yes. This
And it's even terrible when they try to cover up with gallons of perfume or cologne, that shit doesn't work lol
A girl from college told me a story on how she had a date with a smoker and when they made out she pulled back and went straight home.
That was my reason for quitting. Met this girl for a date and kissed her at the end. It felt like I was licking an ashtray. Absolutely killed my desire to move things farther along, and made me wonder how many women felt that same level of disgust with me. Never smoked a cigarette again.
Had she smoked recently? I used to date a smoker and she only had that ashtray taste if she had just smoked. It went away pretty quickly after. I can't imagine how much this girl must've been smoking to keep tasting that way normally.
I would have walked away as soon as I met them. Mostly because they lied about not smoking.
the same for me with a previous relationship. she was a chain smoker and the first time we kissed I almost threw up.
after that she was allowed only to two cigarettes per time if she wanted kisses
I'm a teacher and I can tell you which kids' parents smoke and which kids either smoke themselves or get hot boxed by mom or dad otw to school.
Yup! Of course it depends how much they smoke. If it’s every so often then I’m probably not going to smell it seeping through their pores…but, if it’s a more than 2-3x a week thing I’m 100% going to smell it
100%
Every time
Not only to they smell bad, they often try to cover it up with perfume/cologne/body spray and smell even worse.
Only a very thorough and long shower and tooth brushing can fix it
Yup.
I've been behind a smoker in a drive thru line. They weren't even smoking at the time but it was someone I knew so I knew they did. I pulled up to the window after they left and the smell still hit me in the face.
Gave me a new appreciation for how strong it can be.
A couple things with smokers.
Yes, I can smell you from across the room and will still probably smell you a few minutes after you leave the room.
No, you are not as sneaky as you think you are when you use perfume to cover it up.
Same for Uber/Lyft cars.
The air freshener just makes it smell like vanilla coconut cigarette.
That description reminded me of Las Vegas casinos.
Hey, don't knock it till you've been addicted to them for 30 years like me.
No amout of perfume, deodorant, breth mints, chewing gum, air freshener... or whatever else covers the smell of cigarette smoke. What you end up with is always cigarette smoke mixed with whatever has been used to mask it and it somehow makes it even worse.
Like taking a shit and using Febreze. Gag.
I work in the legal field. A lot of women who smome especially DOUSE themselves in perfume before court. The smell of cigarettes and cheap perfume is so awful.
I had a professor who was a really lovely person - absolutely hilarious, too. But she smoked a lot. And every time she went outside for a smoke break, she came in and doused herself with Liz Claiborne perfume. It was a multi-story building and I could smell her from floors away. She left her cigarette/perfume smell wherever she went. It did NOT hide her smoke smell... just blended with it.
The perfume cover up is the WORST! I don’t love strong scents anyway. Your Calvin Klein and menthols combined makes it SO. MUCH. WORSE!
Calvin Klein, lol.
When I was a kid I used to take piano lessons with a lady who did the sneaky smoke. (She was a pastors wife so I don't know if that's why she did it sneaky?) She would leave the room and go smoke, come back and try to hide it by eating nuts and she offer me some as well. I don't know why the nuts and only found out when I was older that she tried to hide it but anyways I will never forget the taste of nuts mixed with the smell of smoke.
Vete estúpida y dale el piano
It's not just you and your clothes. I have clients bring in documents, and I can smell it on the paper. There's no hiding it.
I stupidly picked it back up recently and am already trying to quit again. Finally realizing how bad it smelled when i quit the first time was my biggest deterrent. Every time I put on perfume now I make the joke "now I smell like expensive perfume and cigarettes!"
On behalf of myself and other smokers, I'm sorry lmao.
The perfume just makes shit worse. ESPECIALLY cuz their noses are so fucked from smoking that they can't even tell how much they're using and will absolutely DOUSE themselves in it.
A strong perfume or cologne is arguably worse than just cigarettes
Sneaky? Smokers don't care.
Except when you can’t smell the smoke, because how would you know? I had a coworker who smoked and never tried to hide it. But she never stank- it was weird. I think she was a demon though, so that might be the reason…
Probably washed hands and arms after each smoke. I had a coworker who did that and she was much less stinky than most smokers to me(a non-smoker)
Yes.
Smoke weed or ciggs.
People who smoke weed smell like iron, ketchup, blood, copper, etc. I think it depends on what they are smoking.
People who smoke ciggs just smell walking by. Their cars, clothing, breath, hair, etc. And when they wash their smell stays in the machines and then everyone else thay washes after has to deal with their smell.
100% this. I have a friend who smokes who will smoke in front of me but doesn’t want anyone else to see, but like girl, they don’t need to see it to know.
Bruh. I smoked for a decade. I used to smoke right before getting on an airplane. Right before going into class. Or work. Before going home to my wife. I never understood.
Now that I haven’t smoked for a few years, I am beyond ashamed of myself. It’s disgusting. When a smoker who has recently smoked sits next to you, it can be a genuinely overpowering smell, and it sticks to you, too.
I was accidentally so fucking offensive to so many people as a smoker.
Never again.
I try not to hold onto regret or dwell on things from the past. But having finally quit smoking and realizing how bad it smells, I am absolutely mortified of the stench I subjected friends, family, and coworkers to for decades
Same I quit 2 years ago and can’t stand the smell now, cheap cigarettes are infinitely worse to me over the more expensive ones (still gross either way). My partner switched from cigarettes to vaping maybe 6-7 months ago and only now is he starting to smell the yuck smell lol I also have a sensitive stomach so the smoke and smell makes me feel pukey
But the best feeling is when you're like, a year or two past quitting and you think "Oh I can just have one social cigarette," then you spark it up and it tastes like absolute ass and you wonder why the fuck you ever did it in the first place.
Not to mention how much money a pack per day for a decade adds up to!
My dad smoked for decades. Quit when my oldest brother as a tot, reached up to the glow. He threw them out, never again. Said after that it smelled like burning rope
Wow my grandpa quit after I tried grasping at the smoke when I was little. Last cig he ever touched.
Some people just had a stronger self will and could just say I'm done. Now his beer was another issue, he said when the doctor told him he couldn't have it anymore (angina) that was the hardest thing to quit.
If I’m just chatting with someone smoking a bit too long the smell will stick to me. It’s so damn gross.
I hate the smell of smokers so much, and you're right on with the way the smell sticks to your clothes. As soon as I get home I immediately put them in the washing machine.
Same
Same… but I was a 40 yr smoker.
Same. Sometimes come across someone who smokes the same brand as several of my ex gfs and im like “WTF was I thinking?”
Same here. Here I thought the 5 years I worked at an office job they couldn't smell me when I came back from my lunch break because it was an hour long, I would pull into a parking lot get outside smoke 1 cigarette and return to work 55 mins later.
I was an idiot and it was embarrassing looking back at it. Once I quit smoking and started smelling others who did, have me a perfect reason for not going back.
It doesn't even have to have been smoked recently, it sticks to your clothes (and often doesn't wash out) so if you've smoked at all in that outfit, you stanky.
Same!
You just described me! I smoked for over 15 years, beginning at the start of high school and eventually quitting in my early 30s. I now find smokers smell so terrible and have retroactive shame... I had no idea just how badly I smelled and can't believe I would subject people to that, whether it was going to the dentist, sitting next to strangers at the movies, first dates with non-smokers, even going over to hug my sweet little Grandma. I've noticed it also smells particularly bad during cold winter weather or on rainy days.
For real, even the slightest whiff of that shit fucks me up so bad these days, I have to shower and change clothes after merely walking by a smoker. Yet many smokers I know will act like I'm just being a dick for avoiding them. No matter how I try to explain it.
They just don't seem to be able to accept the negative impact it has on those around them, while in the throes of the addiction. Most of them straight up resort to gaslighting to rationalize it. It's crazy.
Yes
Yes, and weed is doubly obnoxious. I do volunteer driving and had to get Febreze for my car due to the addicts going to the clinic. Weed is legal in my area. And gawd does it REEK.
They reek!
I legit can't breath properly when i'm next to someone smoking. Hated it when my stepdad would smoke in the car on long rides.
Ppl who smoke in cars with others are beyond selfish
And then they throw their cigarette butts out the window.
I was driving on Sunday and the car in front me did this. Just shook my head at how terrible some Humans can be.
My mom would do it while driving me to the ER with asthma attacks to "calm her down".
"I'll crack the window."😫
I always go into insane coughing fits. It's infuriating being near people that smoke
Yes.
They stink
Their breath stinks, their hands stink, their hair stinks, their clothes stink, their car stinks, their home stinks, and if I spend any time in your home or car now I will also stink.
Smokers are blind to it, or think that a breath mint will hide it, but they are wrong.
It's nasty.
My mother in law lives on the other side of the country and smokes indoors. Sometimes she mails gifts for our kids (her grandkids) and when we open the boxes we have to actually wash everything (brand new toys and clothing with tags) because they smell so strongly of cigarettes after just a couple of days in her home. :(
We get stuff from one of my wife's heavy smoking relatives occasionally - we usually open the box on the front porch and let it air out a few hours (at least) before we bring it in.
That's a smart idea. The sad thing is, I don't think they have any idea how badly their gifts smell. As a former smoker myself, I find it so embarrassing that even a thoughtful gift has to be decontaminated.
I try to avoid having regrets in life and dwelling on the past, but smoking for 15 years is probably my biggest regret of all. Smoking is an unnecessary and destructive habit that harmed my health... and my bank balance! I wish I never started in the first place and I urge anyone reading this who still smokes to quit ASAP. You won't regret it once you are over the initial withdrawals!
When I receive DoorDash sometimes the bags stink after only being in their car for a short period of time
Made the mistake of bringing a suitcase and a book to a smokers house. Both ruined.
I had this ex and we spent a few days in his MILs apartment, she smoked inside. When I went home I had to throw all my (used and unused) clothes into the washing machine because they reeked of smoke. I told my ex and showed it to him and, him having grown up there and having been a smoker for a while himself, pretty much gaslit me telling me I am insane for saying that, the clothes have no scent whatsoever, I am imagining it to hate on his mum etc.
Anyway, exboyfriend.
Yes.
I smoked for over 25 years, and now that I’ve been quit for 2ish years it smells so bad! Same with alcohol—been almost 14 years and I can still smell it on someone from a distance, and even the next day (like, not even hungover, but I can still smell if you drank the night before).
Dad said it smelled like burning rope. Alcohol coming through the pours of the body is so rank. My brother was an alcoholic. When I got up.in the morning, he sometimes would use my bed, it smelled so bad, I'd have to wash the sheets. Could smell it from. The doorway.
I am the opposite. I do smell it, but I kinda like the smell for some reason. I also miss smoking, I liked it, but I quit because of health reasons a few years ago.
Yes. Really disgusting smell.
Yes, and I can’t stand the smell. I own my own business and have 2 full time employees they both smoke. They know not to smoke around me or near me. I’ve never told them not to, they just know I don’t like the smell of cigarettes smoke!!
Man I stopped about a year ago.... It f stinks now i cant believe i walked around like that... My missus must really f care for me to stick around that for years
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes
All of them. They reek of the smoke and nine times out of ten their breath is putrid
Yes.
It's fucking disgusting
Yes
Yes. I can even smell smoke from a few cars ahead of me even if we both have our windows up.
Yes!
Yes
Ya'll stank
Disgusting. And not only that, it sticks to my clothes and I have to feel embarrassed because it looks like I'm the stinky smoke bag.
Yeah, would visit my in-laws, she smoked. Would put our clothes in the hallway when we went to bed.
Absolutely 100%
I quit smoking 9 years ago, and one of the first things I noticed was just how bad other smokers smell - it's just I didn't notice it before, maybe the cigarettes had made me noseblind to it.
One thing I will add; weirdly I do like the smell of cigarettes being smoked, like the actual smoke itself - not right in my face but a whiff of it on a street.
But the smell on peoples' skin, clothes and breath is nasty.
This question gets asked too many times. Yes smokers, you stink, your breath stinks and every room, house, car or wherever you smoke stinks. Non smokers know this and hopefully smokers learn it and can stop asking.
You don't even have to smoke in there. The smell follows you and lingers wherever you go. It's in your hair, clothes, hell your sweat even smells like it.
Not like a dead body or anything but it's certainly not great.
Oh yes, absolutely. As a kid with a parent who smoked, I was always "quite" aware of how bad it smelled
Yes. Don't even have to be that close to them to smell them.
Yep, and it's nasty. Especially when someone talks to you with stale cigarette breath.
Yes, the smell is quite noticeable
When I was a teenager, working at a diner, one of the waitresses asked me out. I liked her. We got along well but I turned her down because she was a smoker and her friends were smokers. My mom and dad smoked constantly. I could not picture myself spending any more time with smokers than I had to.
Yeah. Can always tell a smoker
Depends on how much they do it and if they're an inside or outside smoker.
My parents reek, but they each smoke 2 packs a day in their house and never go outside.
I've worked with folks that just have a smoke or two on a porch and that's fine, fresh cigarette isn't nearly as bad as stale cigarette.
Those relit ones are the worst. I used to work at a place where all our belongings were in 1 locked cabinet. This one lady always had one of those in her cig pack 🤢
I was shocked when I learned that people smoke entire packs a day, that’s crazy to me 😭
My grandpa used to smoke 3 packs a day of unfiltered Camels. No shocker that he died of a massive heart attack
I smoke and I've had several people respond with surprise when they found out (my landlord, a few nurses who insisted they could tell and that my wife and I were not smokers when we both are). I'm sure I do still smell at times but I'm very aware of it and try very hard not to. For one, I never smoke indoors. Even in a car. I wash my hands immediately afterwards. I definitely don't douse myself in perfume lol I do notice that my hair will sometimes stink at the end of the day (and I fucking hate it). But if I pin it up as I do most of the time, it doesn't usually smell. Idk. I wish there was a way to test this just for myself specifically. It's something I am hyper aware of and paranoid about.
Yep I smoke, too, and people are often shocked when they find out. Smoke outdoors, wash your hands regularly, wear clean clothes, and you'll largely be ok unless you're chain smoking 2 packs a day.
Every time this question is asked ppl insist they can tell with 100% accuracy immediately if someone is a smoker and it's just not true lol
It smells so badly that it gives me nausea. Partner is similar. We turn on our air purifier and close the windows if the downstairs neighbour is smoking. Horrible.
Yes.
Yes
Yes. We had a plumber who was regularly working on our house during a remodel, who was a really cool guy. Loved our dog, had similar tastes in music and video games.
But he was a smoker. I could literally tell when he was working because I could smell him the second I stepped into our house. It was horrible.
It´s difficult for a non-smoker to be friends with a smoker
Stank
Yes! Disgusting!
I used to smoke and now that I don’t I can confirm that, yes, every smoker smells
Yep. I find smokers’ breath has a vomit-like aroma to it.
No, I have a friend who I keep forgetting that they smoke because I never smell it on them ever.
Yeah, horrible smell.
Yes, my mom was a smoker and sometime it’s a nostalgic moment for me then, ew. I miss her but not that smell.
Yes always
Without question
Yes. They smell disgusting. I hate being around smokers.
Yes, it‘s disgusting to be honest.
Yes they fucking stink. You can smell them as soon as they walk into a room.
One hundred percent.
I think people who smoke in cars or inside their homes tend to stink more than those who smoke outside.
You can smell a cigarette smoker from five feet away. They smell like death.
Yes.
Yes. 100%
yup
Yes
YES
Yes and stopped talking so close to people’s faces with your smokers breath 😕
YES.
Not bad it’s more of a disgusting smell.
Absolutely.
For sure.
Yes. No doubt
Yes
yep
Yes. And I'm a former smoker! About a year after I quit smoking cigarettes I started noticing how horrible it smells on other people, in their homes, in their cars etc. I actually felt compelled to apologize to all my non smoking friends and family for all the times they suffered my presence 💀
Absolutely and I care a lot more now that I have kids. My father in law smokes but he makes a good effort to stay away from the kids and wash his hands and such if he smokes while we’re there. But some people’s kids reek of smoke (cigarettes AND weed too) because their parents are chain smokers.
I’ve only had a couple of cigarettes in my life and will never pick up the habit, but I used to be a heavy weed smoker after high school. Now that I have kids though I would be ASHAMED to be caught reeking up a room with the smell. Nothing wrong with weed but if your kids smell like any kind of smoke then that says a lot about you as a parent.
Yes and even when you think you don’t smell you do.
Yes, and I used to be a smoker… I now hold my breath when I walk past someone smoking a cigarette and that’s if I haven’t managed to avoid them before that.
Yes. It's a total instant ick.
I have found that some smokers smell better than others. Anyone who burns out a cigarette partway through and puts it in their pocket, I'm sorry, you're part of the group of smokers that stinks. A lot of people that smoke that I've hung around with, were also pretty hygienic other than the smoking, so they'd smell like cologne/perfume mixed with cigarettes or air freshener mixed with cigarettes. We can always smell the cigarettes, but some combos are less offensive olfactory wise. I think it varies from person to person on how bad it smells. My brain associates the smell with some family members as a kid, or certain friends' homes, so it doesn't immediately make me grossed out, it's actually borderline comforting...?
All these answers and I just came from the brisket sub thinking of a smoker being a grill wondering who would think that was bad. Oops. To answer the actual question. Of course. Even a smoker knows.
The smell of cigarettes is actually weirdly nostalgic to me. While it’s very offputting in a restaurant or bar setting (i work in restaurants and hate when i can tell my server just smoked) it registers as a part of the natural scent of a lot of my favorite people.
I smoke, and this is what I've heard from a lot of my friends.
It smells terrible, but it also reminds people of their grandparents/friends/boyfriends who smoke.
Dude, seriously. This question every week?!
Yes, and you can smell them from a distance. Very offensive smell. Making faces right now.
I wish smoking never existed for several reasons, but wish smokers could see & smell how they really are and it isn’t desirable.
I had college classes with a woman who smoked & she was so beautiful. We became friends and after college lost contact. 10 years later we met up and she had aged a lot (yes, still smoking). She wasn’t that gorgeous blond any more. I think it is sad they don’t see the effects & damage that smoking does to them.
As a non-smoker, I can spot a smoker from a mile away just by the smell. It's like a sixth sense!
By the smell - literally one of the 5 senses haha
Absolutely
Yes. And as an ex smoker they smell even worse than they did before I smoked
It never bothered me when smoke was everywhere. After bars and restaurants cleared up, I notice it.
Yep.
Ex smoker and yes
Even before I was a smoker, I had this weird relationship with the smell. I liked it because it’s what I would smell when my dad hugged me. Did not get a lot of hugs from my dad haha
Yes
Yes, it’s a very powerful chemical smell. You do get used to it, but when a smoker walks into the room everyone knows it.
Yes. It's so strong no matter what you do
They aroma on the clothes sucks, but smelling it on their breath is death.
Yes, their breath, their clothes, I can smell their stink as they pass. Smokers stink. When I was younger and more people smoked, a friend said kissing a smoker was like licking an ashtray.
It does smell so.
Yea. I was down at the courthouse yesterday as a matter of fact and as I was walking past the line I my way out someone smelled like cigarette smoke...so nasty
yes.....yes....and YES
yes
Yes, especially their breath.
sad opinion formed by culture, but I was a teenager in the 90s and it is sort of nostalgic. it's not a deal breaker, but yeah. I can smell it. Weed smells absolutely repulsive to me, I can't not smell skunk or fox spray and would rather smell tobacco.
Yes. It doesn't matter what you're smoking, either.
Yes! I work with a few smokers and they smell so bad! Like stale cigarettes!
Yes. I used to smoke for about 4 years, then abruptly stopped and haven't for the last 20. So I've been on both sides of the story.
The smell to a non-smoker is repulsive and not subtle. I haven't met a smoker that I'd consider smelling good or even neutral. When I used to smoke I wondered the same thing. It took about 3-6 months after quitting (from what I can remember) for me to fully regain my sense of smell, and to realize just how much I used to reek of cigarette smoke to others.
Yes. The smell is awful; almost nauseating. I’ve maybe smoked 10 cigarettes in my entire life while drinking in college. Never ever touched it after that. Being in a car or at the home of someone who smokes is fairly suffocating.
I can usually smell a smoker from about 10 ft away, and they leave a cloud of smell for about 5 minutes after they leave. It's so yucky lol
Even when I did smoke other smokers smelt bad to me.
YES!! And NOTHING covers up the smell
Absolutely. You stink like cigarettes. Put on perfume? Now you smell like an ashtray full of bath and body works bullshit. And I have twice the headache. Face it. You're stinky.
Former smoker here... when you smoke cigarettes, every first impression you make on people is the fact you smoke. There is no hiding that smell. Quiting was hard but looking back i wish i would have quit much sooner.
Yes. You smell bad. No. You cannot hide it with perfume, mints or whatever.
You smoke, you smell.
Awful. You smell awful.
You all smell like an ashtray.
Yes. And it clings to everyone in the household. As a teacher I know exactly which students have smokers in the house with them.
Cigarettes? Yes
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