Has anyone else become super sensitive to cigarette smoke since the lockdowns?
Has anyone else become super sensitive to cigarette smoke since the lockdowns?
In the distant past, I used to be able to sit down at a bar where people would smoke, and not mind at all. Then came the smoking ban, which made me find it unpleasant, but not a big deal. Then came the lockdowns, and I got used to breathing super fresh air all the time. Now I start coughing if someone outdoors smokes 5m away from me and the wind blows it in my direction. Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?
No, I've pretty much found it repulsive my entire life.
Fair enough. I guess it was so common when I was growing up that I never realised it.
Yes same here. Somehow smokers have a habit of standing at the entrance of buildings..
I think it's because they're not allowed inside the buildings, so they just pop out to the bare minimum distance to smoke. In their defense, probably hard to get very far with all that tar in your lungs.
I smoked for a while. It’s not the distance, it’s the wind. Most entryways have wind blocks that make it more comfortable to stand there and also make it easier to light a cigarette.
While I completely understand that smoking is not a habit that passersby want to subject themselves to all the time, I do think some people are a little oversensitive about the sight of a smoker in a public outdoor place. The stuff that comes out of cars is equally if not more dangerous than second hand cigarette smoke in an outdoor area, but people tolerate it without complaint because they can acknowledge the universal utility of a car. Regardless of that utility though, it is still poisoning the earth and its inhabitants with every mile driven, and a cigarette is mostly only poisoning the smoker when used outdoors with reasonable distance from others.
If we decided 6 feet is good enough for COVID, then it seems like 10 is more than enough for a cigatette.
I know many will disagree with this—please be gentle.
not really right after lockdowns. i started becoming sensitive to smokes a bit before that happened. there is a reason i don't go outside during breaks at my university. place is lousy with smokes.
Nope, always hated it. Being in Europe just makes it worse since everybody smokes here.
smoking was banned inside businesses in my area close to 20 years ago. just about everyone I know who used to smoke has quit or switched to vaping
I've seen some homeless folks smoke recently but that's about it
The thing that always shocks me, is how fucking vile cigarette smoke smells. It's almost like they intentionally engineered it to smell like death.
I think cigar smoke and pipe smoke actually smells sort of pleasant. Why do cigarettes smell so bad? Is it just all the preservatives and other nonsense they put in them? I went to France a few years ago and thought the cigarettes smelled significantly less horrible than they do in the US. Maybe they smoke more natural cigarettes?
I used to smoke occasionally and I also noticed a huge difference between self-rolled cigarettes and "normal" pre-rolled cigaretts. After smoking one "normal" pre-rolled cigarette, my hand and pretty much all of my clothes would noticeably smell for the rest of the day (to the point where even I would smell it on myself). The self-rolled cigarettes would smell too of course, but nowhere near as bad as the pre-rolled ones. Maybe it's the additives that make the pre-rolled cigarettes burn better.
I turn off outside air when im driving behind someone who is smoking. Cant stand it and Vape is only slightly less bad.
I've always been sensitive to that even before lockdown. Still sensitive to it after getting COVID last year.
Yep. It's a known thing. You were adjusted to second hand smoke. Now you're not. This is what people who aren't around smokers enough smell and experience. Personally it started happening to me in the Army. I wasn't a smoker at the time and out in the field it's ridiculously obvious as a smell. So much so that by the time I left, the unit leaders had banned smoking in the field and told the smokers to dip or use patches. Not out of any health concern but because the smell carries so far it's a risk to the unit.
Oh, that makes sense. Thanks a lot for your explanation! And wow, I wouldn't have guessed that the smell of smoke would be a risk to a military unit, though now that you mention it it also makes a lot of sense.
Not more then usually. However, since lockdowns, the stench on the street from the traffic, mopeds,... is terrible, as is the noise.
I'm even less inclined to be around people since then. After those 2 wonderfully quiet years I just prefer the room around me.
Second hand smoke became a lot worse for me after quitting smoking. So it didn't get worse for me after lockdown, but it was always bad for me.