Extreme cigarette smoke sensitivity/allergy, does anyone else suffer with this?

[Lilac Hamster]

I do, and would like to know if I am totally unique. It is hell for me just having to walk past someone smoking in the street. I can't always manage to cross the road to avoid the second-hand smoke because of traffic and just have to try and hold my breath while rushing past them!

I'm just wondering how rare this problem is. I felt ill today on the way home from school with my kids because I had to walk past a smoker and ended up coughing all the rest of the way home and very breathless and phlegmy. I won't bore you with the details of some of the problems I have had because of this reaction I have to smoke, but it has been wrecking my life over the last few years. Obviously I don't go any indoor places where smoking is allowed but even just a tiny bit in the street affects me so badly. I gave up saying anything to the smokers because it just ended up all the worse for me, needless to say, and I do my absolute best to avoid them to the point of crossing the road usually.

I've also noticed my sensitivity to tobacco smoke (or any smoke) is worse than ever premenstrually. I emphatically denied any link at first when my husband noticed this, but once I started logging when I had my worst breathing problem and coughing from it in the street it turned out he was quite right.

Obviously I never smoked myself but my mother is a heavy smoker and I blame her smoking around me all the time when I was a child. I believe this probably caused my smoke sensitivity. Anyone else suffered this and most importantly found anything that actually helps?

Lesley

[Seaside]

Yes, my situation is exactly the same as yours. My mother smoked my whole life, and until I moved out, it wasn't a problem. After a few years away from it, I developed an extreme sensitivity to it, getting headaches, though, not symptoms like yours. Just last night I was walking my dogs, and a smoker caught up to us. There was no breeze to blow it away, and I was extremely angry at how far it carried, and how long it lasted after we let him pass by. I can also be affected by a person smoking a cigarrette in the car, on the freeway, going 65 miles an hour. I have to turn on the fans and open the windows in order to stop smelling it. I wish these people would keep their windows closed if they smoke in their cars. I would like to see that the next law. After all, why do they want to let all that expensive smoke blow away? They spend so much more time letting the cigarrette burn down than they do sucking on the goddamned things, I just don't get it. I really feel like people should not be allowed to smoke anywhere but in their own homes, and that would be indoors, with the windows and doors closed. After all, it wouldn't be legal for me to go about with a can of Raid and spray it wherever I wanted, and I feel that people inflicting their smoke on others is exactly the same thing; spraying poison in other people's lungs.

I have found no way to deal with this healthwise, except that it has gotten better with time. I no longer get an instant headache the moment the smell hits my nose. It still makes me very angry, though.

[foxytina_69]

the same thing happens to me. if im around anybody that even smoked that day, my asthma plummets. its hard with my sister smoking, coming in and out of the house that way and stinking of cigarette smoke.

[Lilac Hamster]

Thanks, we probably are quite unusual but at least I am not the only one.
I'm so sorry your sister smokes and makes you ill, maybe you need to tell her asthma can kill so in fact her smoking could kill you. Sounds like she needs a wake-up call about what it is doing to you.

I've seen a homeopath but had no success and going to see a herbalist soon about this problem, maybe she can help strengthen my lungs so I will not react quite so much to a small amount of smoke in the street (although I would still obviously want to avoid smoky places on health grounds even if I was not so sensitive).

Lesley

[Mr Flibble]

I know a guy (non vegan) who can't go to pubs or places where people smoke due to getting respiratory problems as a result (he has no problems the rest of the time), but I think he needs a bit more prolonged exposure than a few breaths

[DianeVegan]

Lilac Hamster,
Any chemical exposure as a child or adult (pollution, second hand smoke, chemical cleaners, air "fresheners") can sensitize your lungs to further exposure. You may have broncospasm (ie, smoke-induced asthma) when you are exposed to smoke. The symptoms are chest tightness, phlegm production, cough, difficulty breathing and sometimes and audible wheeze. The broncodilators used by asthmatics usually offer instant relief. My husband has severe asthma (since childhood) and is especially sensitive to cigarette smoke even though he takes numerous asthma medications. Luckily, we are seldom exposed.

I don't know of any herbal remedies that can strengthen your lungs. The problem isn't necessarily your lungs but rather the immune response from your lungs to what it considers a toxin. It is a cascade reaction, similar to an allergic response and therefore the best treatment is always to avoid the sensitizing substance. Since this isn't always possible, you may want to speak with a practitioner about getting an inhaler for the occasional exposure.

Whatever you do, I hope you find an answer.

[Cherry]

I'm definitely allergic to cigarette smoke. It makes me sneeze non-stop. (Then I get asthma).

It's worse when I'm in a room in which one person is smoking and the smoke is wafting over. Wherever I am in the room it seems to gravitate towards me

It's not so bad when I walk into a really really smoky place. Ok, my lungs don't feel so great for a day or two, but it doesn't make me sneeze as much.
Horrible stuff, smoke.

My sister has given up for 2 months now! Yay!

[8 winks]

my friend is alergic to ciggs. we went out to a bar to have a little fun the other night and by the end she could barely breathe. she sounded like she had severe larengitus or had been screaming at a football game all day. the poor girl. i never realized what she was going through!

i didn't know other people suffered from this. now i feel kinda mean for smoking near her... she never makes a big deal of it. kind soul... will make an effort now

[alekolu]

Yeah, I know two people who are allergic to smoke. I think it's more common than you realize!

[Lilac Hamster]

Thanks for the replies. I'm on some herbal concoction now from a herbalist to strengthen my sensitive lung tissues (I tried homeopathy already, but it didn't work for me), we'll see if it helps but obviously I find strict avoidance of smoke and smokers is the best thing I can do (frankly just sitting next to someone on a bus who has been smoking makes me feel sick from the smell, it’s all I can do not to throw up all over them). I always feel better with my chest if I don't have to leave the house at all for a few days, I would be turning into a hermit if it were not necessary to get the kids to and from school and go to the shops I think!

A few months back soon after moving to the area we live now I met some local AR people, they do regular stalls in a local town centre but the problem is so many members of the public come up to the stall smoking and the lady who runs the stall will not say anything to these people about it. I cannot get her to ask members of the public not to smoke by the stall (maybe she thinks it will put them off coming over to find out more about AR if she asks them not to smoke so I might understand her position, even though I don't agree as I think more ppl would come over if no-one was smoking around them). Anyway she knows that her refusal to make such a rule means I am prevented from getting involved at all even though the people on the stall are happy for me to come along and participate, and I'm on friendly terms with them. All of them are non-smokers and mostly quite health conscious and as individuals most seem fairly understanding of my smoke sensitivity, in fact some of them have their own even odd little foibles and we tend to mostly be quite accepting and understanding of one another. It's really difficult because I would like to do my bit and help out occasionally on a Saturday but as it's an outdoor stall there is no way I can get involved. Besides I'm actually pretty TERRIFIED of cigarette smoke, due to the number of times I have been made so ill and thought I was even probably going to die from it. If a smoking person was to approach me I would just have to get away fast, it would even be difficult for me to say anything to them, I would have to avoid the smoke as the first priority.

If I was in charge of the stall myself I would definitely display prominent "please do not smoke" signs at each end of the stall and would not be afraid to politely ask anyone smoking not to do so next to/over the stall as it’s also a fire hazard with all the leaflets in case someone drops hot ash on them. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for the public not to smoke when they come up to a street stall because they are getting close up to other people so smoking in that situation is actually very rude, what do other ppl think? Am I being unreasonable to want to ask for no-one to be smoking right close up to a stall? What would other ppl do in this situation? I'd like to know.

8 Winks, hope you won't mind me asking why do you not just give up smoking? Do you not understand how very unkind it is to inflict passive smoking on anyone, whether they are sensitive to it or not as it is still a serious health hazard? I'm sure if you are a kind person you would not smoke around children or animals and there is so much help available with nicotine replacement therapy or you could get the Allen Carr book. Do you think what small amount of pleasure it might give you now to smoke is worth the risk to your life and health, not to mention the fact that many people will avoid you because of how badly smokers actually stink? Like with bad breath (which incidentally most smokers have), most people will not tell you that you reek but many non-smokers will recoil away from a tobacco-smoke-smelling person. I could not be as nice as your friend, sorry but just no way could I ever consider going to a smoky bar even if I was not sensitive to smoke, because such a place would be a health hazard to anyone. Being the way I am I would be coughing uncontrollably and then probably pass out from the toxins and the lack of oxygen within a minute or two, I know from experience as this kind of thing has happened even due to smokers in the street. Last time it happened it was the day after I last gave blood just over a year ago so I have not given blood again just in case it aggravates my sensitivity as it seems it might do. I'm surprised your friend would be happy to go somewhere that makes her so very ill, that seems odd to me as she is an adult who can take responsibility for her health. She could just insist on going to a no smoking venue (and you could always go outside to smoke if you were so addicted you had to do it). It is very selfish for any smoker to put their desire to smoke (or addiction if that is really what it is in your case) above a non-smokers’ right to clean and healthy air, especially indoors. It's a matter of life and death after all for all of you. I assume you were the one who favoured the smoking allowed venue, and it was not her idea to go there. I’ve insisted most of my adult life on avoiding smoky indoor places, I just simply won’t go to those places and no-one has ever been able to get me to once I am determined to refuse. If anyone has a problem with me being assertive over my health choices, that's tough and it's their problem. I’ve fallen out with one or two people over it, or rather they fell out with me over my flat out refusal to go to certain places, eg for veggie meet-ups. If they want to go to such places, I just take the view that it’s their choice and I don’t interfere, even though I think they are being a bit reckless with their health, they know my point of view and can take it into consideration if they like. I don’t understand why they would be annoyed with me for making my own choice as I do not harm them. Some people are strange, even some non-smokers who are more tolerant and understanding of smokers than they are of an assertive non-smoker! Maybe they are jealous because I am very assertive about this and have also learned mostly not to be aggressive about it and they wish they could be equally strong and assertive about it, I am sure there is an element of that in some people's hostility. Believe me I have had to suffer a lot of ill-health before I was able to become assertive!

We have neighbours who sometimes have parties and their visitors have been known to toss their cigarette ends over into our back garden. It is traumatic for me to have to deal with clearing them up, I feel sick just from the sight of these horrible things, call it a phobia or whatever you will as I know rationally that the cig ends unlit cannot really do me any harm. I certainly can't actually touch them anyway! Last time I did pick one up with my bare hand the skin on my fingers where I had touched it went quite red and itchy! That was quite a long time ago. I don't say anything to the neighbours as I don't want harassment so I don't want anyone there to find out how serious an issue this is for me in case they play on it and someone at their house deliberately throws them over even more than before just to wind me up
I do feel like I am being persecuted by these butts coming over the fence already and I have never done anything to upset the neighbours as far as I know, they are just inconsiderate people. I sweep them up and throw them back over onto their side when no-one’s looking, it’s their rubbish, they can just deal with it! Some ppl are cruel and play on ppl's weaknesses, but I don't think they could know how much it bothers me as I have been careful not to make it well-known. We did have to have words with them once because a lit butt caused a small fire when it landed on a bin bag of garden waste in our back garden.

Lesley

[herbwormwood]

I do, and would like to know if I am totally unique. It is hell for me just having to walk past someone smoking in the street. I can't always manage to cross the road to avoid the second-hand smoke because of traffic and just have to try and hold my breath while rushing past them!

I'm just wondering how rare this problem is. I felt ill today on the way home from school with my kids because I had to walk past a smoker and ended up coughing all the rest of the way home and very breathless and phlegmy. I won't bore you with the details of some of the problems I have had because of this reaction I have to smoke, but it has been wrecking my life over the last few years. Obviously I don't go any indoor places where smoking is allowed but even just a tiny bit in the street affects me so badly. I gave up saying anything to the smokers because it just ended up all the worse for me, needless to say, and I do my absolute best to avoid them to the point of crossing the road usually.


I've also noticed my sensitivity to tobacco smoke (or any smoke) is worse than ever premenstrually. I emphatically denied any link at first when my husband noticed this, but once I started logging when I had my worst breathing problem and coughing from it in the street it turned out he was quite right.

Obviously I never smoked myself but my mother is a heavy smoker and I blame her smoking around me all the time when I was a child. I believe this probably caused my smoke sensitivity. Anyone else suffered this and most importantly found anything that actually helps?

Lesley

I used to smoke but about 3 years after stopping I developed what you describe. I have the same problem with air fresheners and strong perfume. I don't see it as a problem for me, it is my body's way of telling me to get away from air which is poisonous. Like the canary which used to go down the mines would die and this sad event would tell the miners to get out as the air was not fit to breathe. Most of my friends don't smoke but my mother does, and it was hard to convince her that I was not criticising her but that I actually could not physically breathe if there was cigarette smoke in the house.

[Kumem]

Thanks for the replies. I'm on some herbal concoction now from a herbalist to strengthen my sensitive lung tissues (I tried homeopathy already, but it didn't work for me), we'll see if it helps but obviously I find strict avoidance of smoke and smokers is the best thing I can do (frankly just sitting next to someone on a bus who has been smoking makes me feel sick from the smell, it’s all I can do not to throw up all over them). I always feel better with my chest if I don't have to leave the house at all for a few days, I would be turning into a hermit if it were not necessary to get the kids to and from school and go to the shops I think!

A few months back soon after moving to the area we live now I met some local AR people, they do regular stalls in a local town centre but the problem is so many members of the public come up to the stall smoking and the lady who runs the stall will not say anything to these people about it. I cannot get her to ask members of the public not to smoke by the stall (maybe she thinks it will put them off coming over to find out more about AR if she asks them not to smoke so I might understand her position, even though I don't agree as I think more ppl would come over if no-one was smoking around them). Anyway she knows that her refusal to make such a rule means I am prevented from getting involved at all even though the people on the stall are happy for me to come along and participate, and I'm on friendly terms with them. All of them are non-smokers and mostly quite health conscious and as individuals most seem fairly understanding of my smoke sensitivity, in fact some of them have their own even odd little foibles and we tend to mostly be quite accepting and understanding of one another. It's really difficult because I would like to do my bit and help out occasionally on a Saturday but as it's an outdoor stall there is no way I can get involved. Besides I'm actually pretty TERRIFIED of cigarette smoke, due to the number of times I have been made so ill and thought I was even probably going to die from it. If a smoking person was to approach me I would just have to get away fast, it would even be difficult for me to say anything to them, I would have to avoid the smoke as the first priority.

If I was in charge of the stall myself I would definitely display prominent "please do not smoke" signs at each end of the stall and would not be afraid to politely ask anyone smoking not to do so next to/over the stall as it’s also a fire hazard with all the leaflets in case someone drops hot ash on them. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for the public not to smoke when they come up to a street stall because they are getting close up to other people so smoking in that situation is actually very rude, what do other ppl think? Am I being unreasonable to want to ask for no-one to be smoking right close up to a stall? What would other ppl do in this situation? I'd like to know.

8 Winks, hope you won't mind me asking why do you not just give up smoking? Do you not understand how very unkind it is to inflict passive smoking on anyone, whether they are sensitive to it or not as it is still a serious health hazard? I'm sure if you are a kind person you would not smoke around children or animals and there is so much help available with nicotine replacement therapy or you could get the Allen Carr book. Do you think what small amount of pleasure it might give you now to smoke is worth the risk to your life and health, not to mention the fact that many people will avoid you because of how badly smokers actually stink? Like with bad breath (which incidentally most smokers have), most people will not tell you that you reek but many non-smokers will recoil away from a tobacco-smoke-smelling person. I could not be as nice as your friend, sorry but just no way could I ever consider going to a smoky bar even if I was not sensitive to smoke, because such a place would be a health hazard to anyone. Being the way I am I would be coughing uncontrollably and then probably pass out from the toxins and the lack of oxygen within a minute or two, I know from experience as this kind of thing has happened even due to smokers in the street. Last time it happened it was the day after I last gave blood just over a year ago so I have not given blood again just in case it aggravates my sensitivity as it seems it might do. I'm surprised your friend would be happy to go somewhere that makes her so very ill, that seems odd to me as she is an adult who can take responsibility for her health. She could just insist on going to a no smoking venue (and you could always go outside to smoke if you were so addicted you had to do it). It is very selfish for any smoker to put their desire to smoke (or addiction if that is really what it is in your case) above a non-smokers’ right to clean and healthy air, especially indoors. It's a matter of life and death after all for all of you. I assume you were the one who favoured the smoking allowed venue, and it was not her idea to go there. I’ve insisted most of my adult life on avoiding smoky indoor places, I just simply won’t go to those places and no-one has ever been able to get me to once I am determined to refuse. If anyone has a problem with me being assertive over my health choices, that's tough and it's their problem. I’ve fallen out with one or two people over it, or rather they fell out with me over my flat out refusal to go to certain places, eg for veggie meet-ups. If they want to go to such places, I just take the view that it’s their choice and I don’t interfere, even though I think they are being a bit reckless with their health, they know my point of view and can take it into consideration if they like. I don’t understand why they would be annoyed with me for making my own choice as I do not harm them. Some people are strange, even some non-smokers who are more tolerant and understanding of smokers than they are of an assertive non-smoker! Maybe they are jealous because I am very assertive about this and have also learned mostly not to be aggressive about it and they wish they could be equally strong and assertive about it, I am sure there is an element of that in some people's hostility. Believe me I have had to suffer a lot of ill-health before I was able to become assertive!

We have neighbours who sometimes have parties and their visitors have been known to toss their cigarette ends over into our back garden. It is traumatic for me to have to deal with clearing them up, I feel sick just from the sight of these horrible things, call it a phobia or whatever you will as I know rationally that the cig ends unlit cannot really do me any harm. I certainly can't actually touch them anyway! Last time I did pick one up with my bare hand the skin on my fingers where I had touched it went quite red and itchy! That was quite a long time ago. I don't say anything to the neighbours as I don't want harassment so I don't want anyone there to find out how serious an issue this is for me in case they play on it and someone at their house deliberately throws them over even more than before just to wind me up
I do feel like I am being persecuted by these butts coming over the fence already and I have never done anything to upset the neighbours as far as I know, they are just inconsiderate people. I sweep them up and throw them back over onto their side when no-one’s looking, it’s their rubbish, they can just deal with it! Some ppl are cruel and play on ppl's weaknesses, but I don't think they could know how much it bothers me as I have been careful not to make it well-known. We did have to have words with them once because a lit butt caused a small fire when it landed on a bin bag of garden waste in our back garden.

Lesley

I'm pretty sure that there's an area of this forum for blogging. Thought you might like to know.

[VeganBiker]

I stopped 5 years ago and can't stand the smell. The next morning after going somewhere where there are smokers, when I tilt my head back I have to cough. In a super market where no one smokes I can even smell if someone has been through an isle that has cigarette stench on their breath. If I go to a bar and have a couple drinks I have to try to behave myself so I dont get in a fight because I have an impulse to tell who ever is near me with a smoke to shove the damn thing up their @ss ! I come home and the smell on my body makes me feel like I need to vomit, I change my clothes and take a shower just because others have to smoke. It's not right when it affects other people's right to breath clean air.

[puffin]

Have you actually told someone to stick it up there arse or do you just feel like saying that? I would never say something like that to anyone. I see nothing wrong with people hating smoke but to me that is going a little to far and makes you look very violent.

[Kumem]

I completely agree. I smoke. I don't want to smoke and intend on giving up over the next few weeks (am reading the Alan Carr book) before I start a family. I don't like smoking; I'm addicted. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. Not every smoker is insensitive. I smoke outside if I go to peoples' houses, without them asking me to, I don't smoke around non smokers unless they tell me they really don't mind. I hate my habit and am embarrassed by it. I would hate to think that I made someone feel unwell, which is why I tend to restrict my smoking to my own home or outside. Please don't tar us all with the same brush. I hate that I smoke, it's not particularly vegan, it's bad for my health etc. I know WHY I shouldn't smoke and that's why I want to give up, but it's not as easy as flicking a switch.

[Hemlock]

I used to love smoking, it was a real pleasure. However when I married John who has never smoked it became a furtive bad habit done outdoors and I felt really bad stinking of cigs around him. He acted brave but I know he really hated it. I gave up recently and I've never looked better, the dark rings have gone under my eyes, I've stopped standing outside in the snow/rain for a drag and stopped hacking my lungs up every day.
Now I pity people like Kate Moss who is always seen with fag in hand everywhere and looks like a right dog as a result and will be heavily lined in a few years.
It's not easy at all. I switched to roll ups which are much less addictive for a year then gave up and it wasn't too horrendous after the first few weeks. Now I'll never smoke again as the smell and lifestyle revolts me.

[Lilac Hamster]

This is surely a thread for non-smokers who are being hurt by passive smoking, not the place for smokers to moan how addicted they are and how hard it is for them? Sorry but I quite frankly have no sympathy for smokers at all, most of them have no sympathy for me. There are so many places smokers can get support to quit but if you are highly allergic to it and it hampers your social life and everything, even getting out to get the kids to school I have been extremely ill from smokers in the street, even passed out a couple of times with coughing fits from it and that was outside, but there is no support for me! NHS is useless and have no idea how to help me. It is very serious!

Lesley

[Kumem]

(Korn/other mods - please do move this thread if you find it offensive/irrelevent to thread title)


It's a shame that you have no sympathy for smokers, but I do not blame you. It is comparible with vegans who have no sympathy for omni's and are therefore not willing to spend time educating them in a compassionate way. Each to their own. I have sympathy and compassion for people affected by smoking, hence I stay away from them. It's different though, in that most smokers (if they are honest) do not want to smoke; they are addicted. Whereas most omnis want to carry on eating meat. Smokers are therefore easier to 'convert' than omnis.

You mention, bizarrely enough considering your comments, the Alan Carr book. I suspect, with little or no knowledge of it. I am currently reading the book and it clearly notes that there is no point in telling a smoker about the terrible things that smoking results in. You, in your highly opinionated essay made several comments telling smokers about what their bad habits results in; all points that every smoker already knows. We know that it stinks, we know that it causes cancer, we know that most people hate the smell, we know that we will be excluded from certain places/social occasions/we know that we are disgusting when we smoke. The book is a superb book, with a high ratio of success and it doesn't tell you what you already know. My mother, a smoker of 20 odd years, gave up after reading it. I appreciate that you do not want this to become a thread for smokers and about 'how hard it is for them.' Hence why I am happy for this to be moved. Your comments do warrant a reply though IMO. We are not all happy smokers. Some of us are embarrassed by our habit and your holi than though attitude just makes it harder for people to admit that they have a problem and get help.

If there is one thing that I can get from this forum it's that people genuinely want to help when they recognise that people are asking for it.

[Seaside]

That is a good point to bring up, Kumem, no one who smokes can be unaware of what it does to their health. I remember seeing movies when I was a kid of people who had had those breathing holes cut into their throats on account of losing parts of their face to cancer from smoking, and smoking cigarettes through those holes. That can't be something a person wants to do; sadly it is something they can't stop doing, in spite of what they know about how bad it is for them. My mom knew, and tried unsuccessfully to quit many times, until she died of esophageal cancer, which is very difficult to treat. She was finally able to quit when she knew her life was in danger, but it was too late.

I think that part of the anger I feel when I smell smoke now is resentment of the reason my mom died. I have always disliked it, and had problems from smelling too much of it, but I never felt rage associated with smelling it until after she died. I never take it out on the smoker, but keep it to myself. I do think though, that the majority of the anger I feel is directed at the people who profit off it. Nicotine itself is not addictive enough to these capitalists, so they add stuff to the cigarettes to make them even more difficult to give up. And I know they direct their marketing to young people, in spite of their protests to the contrary. After all, I don't know of any people (they may exist, but I don't know any) who never started smoking until they were 35 years old. My mom started at 15. I am sure that if you haven't started by the time you are 15 or 16, you probably never will. So I like to keep this in mind when I get angry about smelling smoke, that the person doing it now was probably just a dumb kid trying to be cool when they started it, like my mom, and didn't know what kind of trap was being laid.

[Kumem]

As always you try to see things objectively even if you disagree - I'll keep you updated on my progress

[Seaside]

Yes, do! I have a friend who quit cold turkey three years ago, on account of the fact she was going to lose her teeth and couldn't afford dentures. She knows darn well smoking kills, but vanity over her smile is what made her quit!

So far her teeth are in good shape. She still loves the smell of other people smoking, though.

[puffin]

This is surely a thread for non-smokers who are being hurt by passive smoking, not the place for smokers to moan how addicted they are and how hard it is for them? Sorry but I quite frankly have no sympathy for smokers at all, most of them have no sympathy for me. There are so many places smokers can get support to quit but if you are highly allergic to it and it hampers your social life and everything, even getting out to get the kids to school I have been extremely ill from smokers in the street, even passed out a couple of times with coughing fits from it and that was outside, but there is no support for me! NHS is useless and have no idea how to help me. It is very serious!

Lesley

I must say that your post is very rude. Kumen has opened her heart and explained how she feels and all you did was knock her down. There are smokers on here that could say that they dont care about non smokers and that they dont care that you dont like smoking and its a free country so they can do what they want but they didnt. They read your comments and your problems with smokers. Kumen said she felt bad about smoking and she didnt smoke around people so why is she effecting your life. She isnt, she is trying to give up and since you hate smoking so much maybe you should be encouraging those who do smoke to give up not just get shitty with them.
Have you ever been addicted to anything? If not then you wont understand what people have to go through to give up there addictions.

[harpy]

no one who smokes can be unaware of what it does to their health

I read a psychology article recently (which I now can't find ) where they were reporting research to the effect that thinking about the dangers of smoking actually made it harder for (some) smokers to quit. I think the idea was that the resultant anxiety made them feel in need of a fag. The more successful strategies were said to rely on thinking about the beneficial effects of not smoking, rather than the bad effects of smoking.

I expect there is also research somewhere that implies the opposite, but given that there is so much publicity about the bad effects of smoking and yet so many people who want to give up and can't, I think there is probably something in this view.

Good luck, would-be quitters. A cousin of mine has recently managed to give up after years of trying so it can be done.

[Lilac Hamster]

Have you actually told someone to stick it up there arse or do you just feel like saying that? I would never say something like that to anyone. I see nothing wrong with people hating smoke but to me that is going a little to far and makes you look very violent.

Nothing wrong with this person saying what they want to say to smokers, it's not as if this person actually did say it and got into a fight, although I have said worse things when smokers have actually made me so ill I have ended up in hospital with severe breathing problems, I feel entitled to say something or more than say something when smokers have behaved in a way that has been a threat to my life. If anyone is being violent it is the smokers for assaulting people's lungs in public places. I am not a violent person but I do believe in self-defence and sometimes the time for being polite is past. "Stick it up your arse" is quite mild abuse in my opinion to someone who is risking people's lives. Of course I would certainly never set foot in an indoor place where people are smoking anyway, that is tantamount to suicide for me, it would be very stupid and I would not recommend it to anyone who had any kind of a problem with smoke. But it is also not fair that we should be excluded, why should smokers and those who tolerate it have all the choices of places to go? What about all the asthmatics who can die from being exposed to cigarette smoke? It's hardly rare to have a serious reaction to cigarette smoke and I do believe it should be totally banned in homes and cars where there are children, and in public places (including outdoors in shopping streets).

Sorry Kumem, I've nothing against you personally, I know you are trying to not hurt anyone, but anyone smoking anywhere near me is a serious problem and I have been ill for several days from a coughing fit and breathlessness from just a small amount in the street. I'm certainly not unique so you may never know if you have affected someone with bad asthma or chemical sensitivity to smoke if you smoke in the street and walk by other ppl,

Lesley

[herbwormwood]

That is a good point to bring up, Kumem, no one who smokes can be unaware of what it does to their health. I remember seeing movies when I was a kid of people who had had those breathing holes cut into their throats on account of losing parts of their face to cancer from smoking, and smoking cigarettes through those holes. That can't be something a person wants to do; sadly it is something they can't stop doing, in spite of what they know about how bad it is for them. My mom knew, and tried unsuccessfully to quit many times, until she died of esophageal cancer, which is very difficult to treat. She was finally able to quit when she knew her life was in danger, but it was too late.

I think that part of the anger I feel when I smell smoke now is resentment of the reason my mom died. I have always disliked it, and had problems from smelling too much of it, but I never felt rage associated with smelling it until after she died. I never take it out on the smoker, but keep it to myself. I do think though, that the majority of the anger I feel is directed at the people who profit off it. Nicotine itself is not addictive enough to these capitalists, so they add stuff to the cigarettes to make them even more difficult to give up. And I know they direct their marketing to young people, in spite of their protests to the contrary. After all, I don't know of any people (they may exist, but I don't know any) who never started smoking until they were 35 years old. My mom started at 15. I am sure that if you haven't started by the time you are 15 or 16, you probably never will. So I like to keep this in mind when I get angry about smelling smoke, that the person doing it now was probably just a dumb kid trying to be cool when they started it, like my mom, and didn't know what kind of trap was being laid.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. You say that no one who smokes can be unaware of what it does to their health. However most people start smoking when they are quite young and believe they are "immortal". Younsters do not usually care about their health, that comes with maturity (apologies to any younsters here who care about your health but maybe you are unusually mature in that respect).
Cigarettes are still legal and are still sold in UK to persons 16 and older. They are still advertised and still promoted as a glamour accesory or a sporting accessory. Until this stops how can young people (who are the target of the ads) work out the mixed message? It is true that many peoole who smoke know that it is bad for them and others, but there is still a social reward going on when smokers get together and smoke in little huddles outside offices or in the smoking section of pubs.
And as for peoole with smoking induced medical problems continuing to smoke, unfortunately the psychology of this is extremely complex. I had a great aunt who had amputations from smoking. I smoked through my psychology degrees, despite living with non smokers and living with a health problem which meant smoking was very risky for me. But I had a combination of rationalisation, denial and smoker social support (I had a lot of friends who smoked and had started a an early age- 12)! I rationalised it with "I don't smoke much" and "I smoke low tar" and "my friends smoke". I tried to give up a few times but it wasn't until a few years ago that I was motivated enough to succeed. If something as terrible as what happened to your Mum, had happened to me at that time, when I still wasn't feeling able to give up, who knows whether I would have stopped or not.
But back to the original question, yes, it is clear many people are affected by secondhand smoke. In my opinion it would be better to ban smoking in public places. Eventually nicotine could be classed as a more strictly controlled drug, available on prescription to addicts. Tax revenue would drop, but so would the health bill. Cigarettes disable and kill more people than many illegal drugs do!

[puffin]

Well said

Lesley, i am sorry to hear about you medical problem. It cant be easy for you. I know your mum smoked while pregnant with you and thats why you have the health problems you have today. I am sure people who smoke wouldnt smoke near you if they knew how ill it made you.
Maybe we should start a thread for people who wish to give up where they can be given advice and support by people who have been through it.

[Lexxa]

anxiety.

you're more afraid of smokers / the evil of smoking than you are of lung problems- kinda funny, aint it?

[Lilac Hamster]

My reaction to smoke has absolutely nothing to do with anxiety, it is my lungs reacting very badly to smoke because it is an irritant and a poison (and headaches and other symptoms, even passing out on a few occasions). Why do you assume anxiety when you obviously know nothing about this and have most likely not experienced it? I get ill from bonfire smoke too so it's not about just being anti-smoking or anxiety, it is a serious lung and throat irritant, all kinds of smoke are.
Do you tell people with peanut allergy which is life-threatening that they are just suffering anxiety?
You're probably just a biased and defensive smoker therefore your opinion hardly counts!

Lesley

[Hemlock]

Every smoker is defensive about smoking until they give up and realise how crap it is. I was myself. Now I feel fed up when I go to a party and come home coughing/stinking of smoke, sometimes I even have to leave because the smog inside is so bad and makes your eyes water.
I think smokers should have to go outside and smoke.

[harpy]

I think people who smoke may also underestimate how pervasive the second-hand smoke is. My husband met some of his friends for an hour or two in the pub last night and when he came back he absolutely reeked of cigarettes, just from what had got into his clothes etc (can't have been in his hair as he hardly has any )

I have got a lousy sense of smell, too, so that must have been a lot of smoke.