What is your reaction to non smokers?

[DerStro]

As I do 99% of my smoking on my back deck, I don't really have to deal with the hateful eye of the non-smoker, I've endured my fair share of dirty looks while enjoying a cigar at one of the local pool halls though, god forbid I pollute their cigarette haze with my cigar.

[gjcab09]

I basically only smoke while sitting on my own front porch in the evenings, or if out camping/fishing something like that. So my exposure to fanatical non-smokers is quite limited. I will say that I agree with the majority of posters on this subject. Politeness goes a long way, it's not my desire to be intrusive to anyone, and if asked politely to modify my behavior, I'll do what I can to accommodate. If they're just being ****heads about it though, then screw 'em. "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness", smoking cigars hits 2 out of 3 on that scale if you ask me.

[ribletman]

I smoke cigars preety much on my deck, porch, or on a friends porch. I have no worries about what anyone else thinks in those locations. But I have on rare occasions wanted to smoke when I am out in a park, or camping, or other such activity. I have not had any issues in years, but I can imagine that public displays of disgust could be higher now than before.

But if I go back a couple years I was at a very large park (over 1100 acres) in which smoking is definitely allowed everywhere outside. I was smoking on a shaded bench while waiting on my friends to show up for disc-golf, not even near to where the disc-golf course was. A pair of disc-golfers approached me to tell me to put it out. I tell them there is no rule against smoking, and I was polite enough to stay away from where the golfers gather, they should be polite enough to leave me alone. They left, grumbling and cursing me, but most importantly they did leave. Who wants to be harassed while trying to enjoy a good cigar? That would take the enjoyment right out of it, which may be anti-smoking fanatic's intentions. Disc golfers seem to be health nuts just as often as nice people like me.

[smphilli]

I smoke with other smokers in a lounge or at my house. I realize it isn't personal when people say something, those people just have a vendetta against all smoking. So i just try to smoke with people who enjoy it as much as i do. Either way, its hard for me to enjoy a cigar when i know im offending someone else.

However, if the person is unpolite then i will continue to smoke and i will also make sure that i am downwind of that person when i blow the smoke out

[danmcmartin]

Originally Posted by Cyber

Ok this one bothers me, I hear people tell me they are "allergic to tobacco smoke" a lot. This is a great scape goat for them to use, atleast until they tell me that line of BS.

My wife has asthma and smoke can bring on an attack. She takes responsibility for herself, though. We usually don't go to places where people smoke, but if we do she deals with it. She doesn't expect everyone to curb there behavior becuase of her. If its bad we leave. Nobody smokes in our house or cars, but out at a bar, park, or concert we don't have the right to ask anyone to stop.

[Cyber]

Originally Posted by danmcmartin

My wife has asthma and smoke can bring on an attack. She takes responsibility for herself, though. We usually don't go to places where people smoke, but if we do she deals with it. She doesn't expect everyone to curb there behavior becuase of her. If its bad we leave. Nobody smokes in our house or cars, but out at a bar, park, or concert we don't have the right to ask anyone to stop.

That is a little different, that is asthma, my wife has it as well and that I can respect. If you walked up to me and said as such then I would have no issue with putting it out or moving. It is the "Im allergic" stuff that really bothers me.

Originally Posted by d_day

I was using that only as an example. My point wasn't so much about the allergy, but about people being polite. If someone is polite, whether it's BS or not, I will try to accomodate them.

Some people are indeed very allergic to tobacco. Granted, most people that say they are are not, but it is a very real problem.

Did not mean to come off as attacking you, that is just one thing that really gets on my nerves.

As to your statement that some people are indeed very allergic to tobacco, True some are known to be allergic to tobacco but there is no tobacco smoke antigen. This is THE reputable scientific opinion that can be deduced from the fact that this information comes from a 28-page article, with 227 references, intended to present the "State of the Art" to professionals, in the American Review of Respiratory Disease, the journal of the American Lung Association. (GT O'Connor et al. The role of allergy and nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am Rev Respir Dis 1989;14025-252).

"None of the serum samples tested contained detectable I E antibodies to smoke extracts" (SB Lehrer et al. IgE antibody response of smokers, nonsmokers, and "smoke-sensitive" persons to tobacco leaf and smoke antigens. Am Rev Respir Dis 1980;121:168-170).

"None of the sera tested for IgF...demonstrated significant binding. Similarly, no evidence for IgE antibody to tobacco antigen could be shown by RAST" (McDougall and Gleich. Tobacco allergy - Fact or fancy? (abstract) J Allergy Clin Immunol 1976;57(3): 237)

So if some one claims to be "Allergic to the smoke" you can come back and say "According to the current literature published in The journal of the American Lung Association there is no such thing as a Smoke Allergy"

[Rev2010]

I smoke 99% of the time in my backyard so I don't really have to hear any complaining other than from my mother-in-law who needs to close the windows (she lives upstairs from us). But basically D-Day has it spot on, my response depends on how people act. If I'm walking down the street and someone says something I'd tell them to F-off as I'm moving, not standing around. If I'm standing around in a public place and someone asks nicely if I can move or whatnot and it's no trouble then sure I'll be happy to oblige. If they come off nasty I'll tell them right where to stick it.


Rev.

[Rubix^3]

I posted a thread a while back about my neighbors complaining about my cigar smoke. In Huntington, most of the houses are really close together, so even when I am on my own front porch, the wind may blow one way or the other, pissing off the neighbor on my left or right who are also sitting on their porches. If I see they are out there before me, I will almost always respect their "air" and wait till they go back inside. But on many occasions, I will be halfway through a cigar and someone will come out on their porch and whine about the smell. While I have thought of many beautiful comebacks, I have never responded to them. I just politely smile and keep on puffin!

We are living in an age of graceless self-righteousness, and unfortunately cigar smokers have been marked pariahs. I believe it is in our best interest to be as gracious and gentle as possible in how we handle these folks. Sure, they may still hate cigar smoke, but we should not allow them the added justification that we are collectively, a-holes.

[Rev2010]

Originally Posted by Rubix^3

We are living in an age of graceless self-righteousness, and unfortunately cigar smokers have been marked pariahs.

Yes we are, and this is all because of how society has been slowly retrained over the years. Ever since it was discovered that tobacco can really be bad for you people have taken the initiative to attack it viciously.

Last night I was watching For All Mankind (about the Apollo program) and was astonished how many NASA employees used to smoke IN THE CONTROL ROOM!! A whole bunch of them, smoking cigarettes, cigars, etc right at their stations while at work. It got me thinking... you know many many years ago people smoked on trains and on planes as well! They smoked in the workplace and in stores. I'm sure there were plenty of non-smokers existing around these people and I'm sure most didn't think anything of it.

But lo and behold the attitude today has become very aggressive. Anyone smoking is looked down on as subhuman... some vile wretched creature that is ignorant and uneducated. Some kind of ruiner of society, a threat to the poor children. It's sad really because most of these people think they're better informed than we are when the truth is most of them don't do any real reading or searching up information for themselves. They leave it to other loudmouths to shove their heads full of lies, inaccuracies, and scare tactics cause it's quick and easy.


Rev.

[madurolover]

Originally Posted by Rev2010

Yes we are, and this is all because of how society has been slowly retrained over the years. Ever since it was discovered that tobacco can really be bad for you people have taken the initiative to attack it viciously.

Last night I was watching For All Mankind (about the Apollo program) and was astonished how many NASA employees used to smoke IN THE CONTROL ROOM!! A whole bunch of them, smoking cigarettes, cigars, etc right at their stations while at work. It got me thinking... you know many many years ago people smoked on trains and on planes as well! They smoked in the workplace and in stores. I'm sure there were plenty of non-smokers existing around these people and I'm sure most didn't think anything of it.

But lo and behold the attitude today has become very aggressive. Anyone smoking is looked down on as subhuman... some vile wretched creature that is ignorant and uneducated. Some kind of ruiner of society, a threat to the poor children. It's sad really because most of these people think they're better informed than we are when the truth is most of them don't do any real reading or searching up information for themselves. They leave it to other loudmouths to shove their heads full of lies, inaccuracies, and scare tactics cause it's quick and easy.


Rev.

+1 Rev! I remember smoking on planes, in the theater, in the grocery store, KMart, etc. I do not remember ever hearing anyone complain about it back then.

Remember when college students could smoke in the lecture halls? When I was in Jr. High we had a smoking area for the students.

Sigh... was much simpler times then.

[Rubix^3]

And to add to this,
A lot of folks in my neighborhood have dogs that bark incessantly whenever they are left outside. Are the dog's owners at all aware or sensitive to how this noise is discourteous to their neighbors?

Of course not. Because dog barking is considered a norm to dog owners.

Cigars on the other hand..."what a filthy habit. You are killing yourself with those things and others with that 2nd hand smoke...And think of how much you are burdening our health care system..."

haha. People act like they are gettin' in to heaven with this righteous indignation, haha!

[uvacom]

Originally Posted by d_day

Some people are indeed very allergic to tobacco. Granted, most people that say they are are not, but it is a very real problem.

I had a job a couple years back in a shopping mall that involved unpacking palettes in the service hallways for sometimes hours at a time, and my work area was fairly close to a back entrance. It does get pretty cold here in the winter, and sometimes the smokers would (instead of going outside) just prop the door open and smoke in the stairway. Only a little smoke actually got down to my space, but it irritated my senses really terribly. I would sneeze constantly, my eyes would itch, it was like severe hayfever. The funny thing is being in a smoky bar or something like that where I'm exposed to large quantities of smoke doesn't bother me a bit. But sometimes just a hint of it for a long period of time can drive me nuts.

Of course, I politely asked them to smoke outside and they politely told me to **** off, and being a pipe/cigar smoker myself I can sort of sympathize with their irritation, but I think as smokers we should take somebody's complaint at face value as long as they are polite and we have no reason to believe they are being dishonest. Smoke can be bothersome under the right circumstances.

[ribletman]

I have thought about this off and on since I first saw the thread. When I am inside a place marked "No-Smoking" I get fairly irritated if someone lights up. I firmly believe any business that wants to can make thier business (or property, hotel, car, etc.) non-smoking if they wish. But if a place is outside, and not marked, I have no problems with anyone smoking whom wishes to. Inside locations IMO must be marked "smoking allowed" before I consider it reasonable to smoke indoors. (or are obviously allowed, such as ashtrays located around the space)

The non-smoking waffle house's where I live are an issue. People light up all the time. I have no issue complaining about that since they are clearly marked not to smoke.

I also refuse to be seated next to the smoking section in a restaurant if I ask for a non-smoking seat. I can, and will wait for a better placed seat to become available.

[GrtndpwrflOZ]

All I can say about this is that I have read too many post about hypocritical cigar smokers complaining about cigarette smoke.
and as for the people making faces, hell....your smoke is invading their space (be it private or common) so there should be no problem with their faces of disdain invading our space.
All is fair in..........................


and that's my 2c

[Yellowfever]

Originally Posted by GrtndpwrflOZ

All I can say about this is that I have read too many post about hypocritical cigar smokers complaining about cigarette smoke.
and as for the people making faces, hell....your smoke is invading their space (be it private or common) so there should be no problem with their faces of disdain invading our space.
All is fair in..........................


and that's my 2c

I don't like the smell of cigarette smoke but it isn't to the point I have to hold my nose. I won't complain when someone is smoking near me. It's not that bad.

Our lives are just so easy now we have nothing better to do then complain about the little things. WWIII would do us good. We would realize that there are bigger things to worry about then someone's smoke or how many hamburgers a guy wants to eat.