one of my students just came in to pick something up. to look at him, nothing would indicate that he is a heavy smoker. it was not until he walked up to my desk that i was overwhelmed by a cloud of cigarette smoke smell.
immediately, i got a headache. how do smokers stand that? i suppose they are immune to the smell because of the actual smoking they do. as a non-smoker, i can smell cigarettes from far, far away.
i remember when i used to work in the nursery at the day care. i would have to go into a child’s diaperbag for something and be knocked back by the smokey smell that would blast from the opened bag. i felt so bad for the babies who were prisoner to that awful addiction.
as a nation, we are so focused on appearances… being fat is unattractive, get lipo! get your acne scars lasered. erase stretch marks… blah blah blah
how about if we try working on the way some of our population smells? ok, maybe that’s a silly thought. or is it? i’d venture to guess that the perfume/cologne industry makes a pretty good profit each year!
how about, instead of putting cancer warnings on cigarette packs, let’s put a warning that when you smoke you SMELL REALLY BAD. you will make people want to walk away from you. your breath will smell like an ashtray. wonder what that message would do?
it’s a thought!
I think smokers are immune to the cigarette smell that clings and permeates their clothes, skin, and hair. As much as I hate walking by people who are smoking and walking near their clouds of cigarette smoke, the worst is smelling that ‘I’m a smoker’ smell that a smoker carries on his/her person at all times. It is a deep, stale smell that seems to ooze our of their pores. Bleck! And I also notice that now that smoking is banned almost everywhere, I have become much more sensitive to the smell. If I am at a red light and the person in the car in front of me is smoking, I can smell it (even with my window up).
i agree! i dated a smoker once, and i hated how his hands smelled like he had been cleaning ashtrays! it’s a total mood killer for me!
I grew up with a smoker and honestly had no idea how bad it smelled until I moved out and went back to my mom’s house nearly a year later. I think you just get used to the smell when you’re surrounded by it all the time. Since I moved out of the house, I am very sensitive to the smoke smell and can’t understand how people can do it. Everything that comes to our house from her smells so badly and I have to air it out for days to get the smell out. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke.
i, too, grew up in a smoking house. i don’t remember ever feeling like i smelled, though. i agree that smokers just get used to it.
some people, few& far between, are aware of the smell that clings to them. these are the people who RARELY smell like smoke– they don’t smoke in their home, they roll their car window ALL the way down (even in below zero weather). i was married to a smoker & i can’t stand the smell of smoke. i rarely smelled it because he was aware of how disgusting it can be & took every step possible to make sure that he didn’t smell like smoke.
however, that being said, i think that it is just as disgusting when you end up in line at the grocery store behind the guy that only showers once a week and apparently doesn’t know what deodorant is used for.
know what else i wonder, vicki? how do those people not realize how bad their breath smells? i know when i have stinky breath, i can taste it! it kills me to have someone turn to talk to me and they breathe nastiness all over with their words. makes it hard for me to pay attention!