Non smokers visiting smokers.

bvibert said:

I never said anything about banning anything did I? I don't care to smell the 2 stroke fumes either and I get annoyed when I have to smell them while skiing too. I agree that there is little I can do about it, the best I can do is move away when possible.

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No you didn't. I didn't mean to suggest that. I just wanted to make the point that people are going to do what they're gonna do and there's no point in getting too worked up over it. I stand by my statements that you're not being "imprisoned" if you catch a wiff and also that brief exposure from a smoker 30 feet away is not going to adversely affect your health.

Greg said:

Don't mean to pick on you Steve, but isn't this a bit over the top? "Prisoner?" At best you might catch a wiff or two on a windy chairlift. You're certainly not going to get choked out by it, are you? I guess everyone's sensitivity is different. Now I agree that someone on the same chair should ask before lighting up.

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no, it is not over the top in the slightest. if the wind is blowing steady in just the right way, it can feel like someone is blowing smoke into your face for almost the entire ride. in many cases, smokers one chair in front isn't just a wiff either but rather a constant. interestingly enough, often smokers on the chair in front is WAY worse than a smoker on the same chair as the wind usually blows behind the chair instead of sideways, so wind direction matters a lot.

Greg said:

If you're worried about a wiff of cigarette smoke from time to time, you better just stay cooped up in your house all day. I really struggle with the claim that a wiff of smoke on a chairlift from a chair, what 30 or 40 feet ahead of you, is going to really affect your health.

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no one said one wiff of smoke is going to really affect any one's health. it is supremely annoying though and makes breathing difficult for a short time. certainly it is an infringement on a non-smoker. like i said, no worries if i can move around to avoid the smoke, but if i can't move and i am getting blow back, that is infringing on me. not to mention, i suspect most ski areas have rules against smoking on lifts?

riverc0il said:

no, it is not over the top in the slightest. if the wind is blowing steady in just the right way, it can feel like someone is blowing smoke into your face for almost the entire ride. in many cases, smokers one chair in front isn't just a wiff either but rather a constant. interestingly enough, often smokers on the chair in front is WAY worse than a smoker on the same chair as the wind usually blows behind the chair instead of sideways, so wind direction matters a lot.

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Well, I guess I just haven't skied enough because I've never had smoke from a chair ahead "feel like someone is blowing smoke into your face for almost the entire ride," but again I guess everyone's sensitivity is different.

It's amazing we are even having this discussion when you frame it with the way things were when smoking was accepted...

I used to smoke - a long time ago - and I remember when I started working at AT&T in 1984... My desk came with an ashtray.. There were ashtrays in the conference rooms... I met one my best friends when we were in the same meeting and he asked me for a light...
We smoked in movie theaters... We smoke in hospital waiting rooms... There really were'nt many place that didn't allow it...

That being said..
If you don't like it... Your going to have to go somewhere... Or maybe bring an air filter out in your bedroom...

Now for my 2 cents.....yes it is a long time friend of mine that made the comment that my husbands considers smokers "2nd hand citizens" Now with that being said, he NEVER said that, it's just how the implication was taken, because the smoke does affect him more than any "normal" person. Maybe he's not "normal" JK, UK, hubby.....

It does make it hard for us to visit with some people that do smoke though, which really sucks that they can't understand the affect it has on others. Now, I used to smoke from about high school until about a year and a half before I got pregnant with my daughter, not because of that reason I quit, it was because it did start to affect my health and it is very hard to give it up. It must've taken at least 3 times before I finally did and am glad of it. Now that I do choose to live a healthier lifestyle, I too, find myself being somewhat bothered by "second hand smoke". I know I've already been told re-formed smokers are the worst. I don't preach to anyone about what they do, I now just don't like to have my clothes reak of smoke and choose to try not to be around people that do smoke.

So now because of this we find ourselves on the outside looking in, with a lot of friends and family that do smoke. I don't want to distance ourselves from anyone, but that just what seems to be happening. Yes we will stay at hotels or still visit with anyone that does smoke, but like UK says, we just try to stay downwind and try not to make a big issue out of it, trying not to offend anyone, and trying to remain friends.....Don't know what else to do.

Greg said:

Well, I guess I just haven't skied enough because I've never had smoke from a chair ahead "feel like someone is blowing smoke into your face for almost the entire ride," but again I guess everyone's sensitivity is different.

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There is a bit of a smell perception issue, where smokers often don't realize the smoke smell that eminates(clothes, breath, etc) from them due to the fact that they're around it all the time. People that are former smokers I've noticed generally don't seem to be as affected by the smell either just simply because at one point that smell was a part of their everyday routine, and their brains have that recall function.

Some non smokers will be very sensitive to the smell for variable reasons, some do to the effect that it can have certain peoples airways/lung funtions (asthmatics, etc), for others can be a learned response where due to one's beliefs(often instilled by their parents) they may associate smoke smell with something awfull. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but this learned/instilled response can be a very powerfull thing.

Personally, I've never smoked, I prefer to be in a non-smoking environment, and I enjoy that states such as NY, CT, MA have banned smoking in all public places. But if I'm around a smoker, its not the end of the world for me. Where I really notice how much I enjoy the non-smoking enviroment in CT is when my wife and I goto either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun for dinner (one of the benefits of living less than 30 minutes from them), where you can smoke inside because the casino is "sacred tribal land" It's really, eye opening (or eye redening may be the better way to put it) if you've ever been to Las Vegas - now thats some serious second hand smoke in those casinos!

drjeff said:

Personally, I've never smoked, I prefer to be in a non-smoking environment, and I enjoy that states such as NY, CT, MA have banned smoking in all public places. But if I'm around a smoker, its not the end of the world for me. Where I really notice how much I enjoy the non-smoking enviroment in CT is when my wife and I goto either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun for dinner (one of the benefits of living less than 30 minutes from them), where you can smoke inside because the casino is "sacred tribal land" It's really, eye opening (or eye redening may be the better way to put it) if you've ever been to Las Vegas - now thats some serious second hand smoke in those casinos!

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I stopped smoking almost 10 years ago. Going through the casino sections is murder, thankfully, I don't gamble. I do really enjoy some of the restaraunts at MS. I thought that they were allowed to smoke because of the type of restaraunt/facility license they hold. I seem to remember that when the law went into effect, Foxwoods was actually holding the wrong type of license, and almost had to comply with the smoking ban until it was rectified. I think they were able to get a stay of appeal, though.

Not to resurrect and cause a fuss, but don't forget that some of us have asthma. Second hand smoke is more than annoying to me and my daughter (we both have asthma). I do get vocal and annoyed, even outdoors. You can smoke all you want, but don't force me and my children to as well. And yes, we are prisoners of our home. It sucks. But it's not worth an asthma attack (or possible damage to the baby I'm growing).

To the OP, if they don't respect your wishes (which you need to make heard), they're not your friends. As Brian already said, we pick and choose where we'll go based on smoking. We're also allergic to cats severely and don't go to people's homes who have those either. If they want to see us, they can come to our home and keep it cat- and smoke-free. Otherwise, they're not really friends. I will not compromise my or my children's health for the sake of someone else's "freedom."

Bring cigars next time. Or clove cigarettes. And your own lighter.

I'll be the SOB, get your kids help! As far as losing old friends, they are killing themselves, you will lose them.

They smoke on chairlifts, as if I needed another reason to stay away from skiing.

My Mother-in-law during ny first marriage smoked, even in her own house she smoked by the back door. While visiting, she smoked outdoors. My grandfather smoked & as he laid in a hospital bed in his own dining room wasting away (it had a picture window with the best view from the house of their property) he confided that smoking was the thing he regreted most. (not the drinking & abuse my Dad, aunts & grandmother dealt with) he died before seeing any of his grandchildren get married, died before seeing great grandchildren.

Ban smoking, sure I'd vote for it.

I remember as a kid that people would smoke on airplanes...jeezum

ckofer said:

I remember as a kid that people would smoke on airplanes...jeezum

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I remember smoking on an airplane. Of course, it was a flight from NY to Paris. :roll: