Second hand smoke?

[sugarplum]

Hi All,

Could smelling/breathing in the smell of cigarettes left on someone''s clothes, hair, breath, etc. right after they''ve had a cigarette be harmful or even considered second hand smoke? That is, you weren''t in the same room with the person while he/she was puffing away...but then the person comes into the room you''re in right after smoking a cigarette and brings in all the smells/left over fumes with them...strong and suffocating fumes...

 

[luckystar112]

I doubt it. Seems negligible at best.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Sugarplum,

I believe you are only smelling the odor. I grew up in a house full of the stinky stuff. Parents smoked 4 packs a day between each other. I grew immune to noticing it. I remember in 4/5 grade my friends mother asking me if I smoked. It was so bad in our house the white glossy paint moulding trim had gone from bright vivid white to a dull ivory. Just think what that must have done to my little lungs. Argghhhh.

Second hand smoke will stifle your breathe...you feel it in your throat and nose and an inhale would also bring it into your lungs. While the odor is just a scent...the residue left over from the smoke. If you are in a car garage you may inhale exhaust fumes...and again you can feel the toxic stuff in your throat or lungs...but long after you leave the garage you will still carry the stinge of the exaust odor with you.

You walk through a gauntlet of smokers right outside a door somewhere...hold your breathe...unfortuately the odor will linger on with YOU. But when that employee comes back to the cubicle beside you...it is just odor...not smoke that she is carring in.

No scientist here...just my uneducated opinion. You are describing...second hand odor~

DKS

 

[snlee]

I think you are smelling the odor and it's not harmful. I try to stay far away from smokers because I can't stand second hand smoke or odor.

 

[sugarplum]

I didn''t think it''d actually be considered second hand smoke but the effects of smelling it seem just as bad to me so I started to wonder if the odor itself could be harmful in any way...as long as it''s not harmful then I guess I''m okay with it (well, I''m not okay with it but I don''t have a choice so I''ll have to deal with it).

DKS- 4 packs a day between the two of them?? Yikes!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Actually, I think it can be harmful, just not as much so as inhaling the actual secondhand smoke. Here''s why (this is a good paraphrase I found of the answers of several of the MDs I work with - not their actual words, just a good explanation of why this happens):

"The smoke residue on clothes will probably not penetrate into the lungs like actual second hand smoke can. But..., the smoke odor from the residue on clothes can also hit you like a ton of bricks and will irritate the nasal passages and eyes. This irritation can make a person more susceptible to infections."

Correspondingly, one of my asthma websites said that just the odor can be irritating enough to cause asthma symptoms if you already have asthma or airway hyperreactivity disease, which I knew from personal experience but I''m not sure I''d looked it up formally before.

 

[sugarplum]

Date: 7/26/2007 10:42:43 AM
Author: AmberGretchen
Actually, I think it can be harmful, just not as much so as inhaling the actual secondhand smoke. Here''s why (this is a good paraphrase I found of the answers of several of the MDs I work with - not their actual words, just a good explanation of why this happens):

''The smoke residue on clothes will probably not penetrate into the lungs like actual second hand smoke can. But..., the smoke odor from the residue on clothes can also hit you like a ton of bricks and will irritate the nasal passages and eyes. This irritation can make a person more susceptible to infections.''

Correspondingly, one of my asthma websites said that just the odor can be irritating enough to cause asthma symptoms if you already have asthma or airway hyperreactivity disease, which I knew from personal experience but I''m not sure I''d looked it up formally before.

Tell me about it! Bleh. Well, I won''t take any chances of hanging around and breathing in the yucky odor that could be potentially harmful. I can hardly breathe because the smell is so horrible.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I think that''s an excellent choice - generally, when something is that unpleasant and overpowering chances are good there may be something harmful there. It sounds like at the least you are at risk for increased inflammation of the nasal passageways, and thus increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infections. Good luck staying away from it!

 

[sugarplum]

Ah! Help! The odors! I knew I was in for it when I heard "I need to take a break."

Alright, my turn to go "take a break" (breathe fresh air!).

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/26/2007 6:48:00 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
I think that''s an excellent choice - generally, when something is that unpleasant and overpowering chances are good there may be something harmful there.

like the 99.9% skunk oil people call perfume? (skunks smell better than some of it) :}

 

[door knob solitaire]

Stormy....are you an anti perfume one too? My hubby hates it! Especially when a man shakes his hand and leaves his "Scent" on my husbands hand. Apparently the aftershave stuff stays with em all day long.

But hubby also says Starbucks smells like skunk...I say no dear that latte is a little piece of heaven.

DKS

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/26/2007 8:37:00 PM
Author: door knob solitaire
Stormy....are you an anti perfume one too? My hubby hates it! Especially when a man shakes his hand and leaves his ''Scent'' on my husbands hand. Apparently the aftershave stuff stays with em all day long.

But hubby also says Starbucks smells like skunk...I say no dear that latte is a little piece of heaven.

DKS

Some perfume sets my asthma off and even the ones that don''t stank for the most part.
It is funny how wanting to get their computer fixed magically fixes some peoples smoke smell aversion. LOL
Cuz I have and will say seeya too someone that is rude enough to comment on it especially if they are wearing skunk oil.

 

[sugarplum]

Bleh...I can''t stand most perfumes either and I especially can''t stand it when people feel the need to wear the entire bottle!

 

[monarch64]

Sugarplum, would it be possible for you to maybe keep a can of Oust or Febreze or something that is supposed to get rid of smoke odors at your desk and use it when that person goes out for a smoke break? Maybe by the time they got back you could "pre-neutralize" the area so it won''t bother you so much?

I quit smoking ~4 months ago. My DH still smokes, and I can''t stand the smell if he walks in the door after he''s just had a cigarette, isn''t that awful? He keeps a bottle of Febreze in his car now, and he goes and washes his hands/brushes his teeth before he gives me a hug and kiss most of the time.

Also I find that if I''m sitting in traffic, I can smell cigarette smoke coming from the cars around me or even passersby on the street, I never even used to notice it, but now it kind of bugs me, because even when I''m sitting in my own car I can''t get away from it. No wonder it is so tough to quit, especially when you''re in a highly populated area and surrounded by it.

 

[scarleta]

Date: 7/26/2007 7:46:47 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 7/26/2007 6:48:00 PM

Author: AmberGretchen

I think that''s an excellent choice - generally, when something is that unpleasant and overpowering chances are good there may be something harmful there.

like the 99.9% skunk oil people call perfume? (skunks smell better than some of it) :}

that is so funny Strm.... I tend to agree with you on that..More and more places put " no perfume " signs in some places...
Now as for 2nd hand smoke I am exposed to it myself..The neighbours accross the fence all smoke outside , because they don''t want to" stink up " their place. It really stinks the wind blows it in every direction..Not a pleasant smell not to mention what it does to my health.

 

[strmrdr]

sssssshhhhhh let me tell ya a secret people have been living in smokey places for millions of years.
Ever been in a cave heated by a fire? (yep I have)
Ever been in a sod house with the only heat being a fireplace? (yep I have)
Ever been in a log house heated only by a fireplace? (yep I have)
Ever cooked over a wood or coal stove? (yep I have)
All smell strongly of smoke and anyone living in them gets smoked.

 

[sugarplum]

Date: 7/26/2007 11:59:53 PM
Author: monarch64
Sugarplum, would it be possible for you to maybe keep a can of Oust or Febreze or something that is supposed to get rid of smoke odors at your desk and use it when that person goes out for a smoke break? Maybe by the time they got back you could ''pre-neutralize'' the area so it won''t bother you so much?

I quit smoking ~4 months ago. My DH still smokes, and I can''t stand the smell if he walks in the door after he''s just had a cigarette, isn''t that awful? He keeps a bottle of Febreze in his car now, and he goes and washes his hands/brushes his teeth before he gives me a hug and kiss most of the time.

Also I find that if I''m sitting in traffic, I can smell cigarette smoke coming from the cars around me or even passersby on the street, I never even used to notice it, but now it kind of bugs me, because even when I''m sitting in my own car I can''t get away from it. No wonder it is so tough to quit, especially when you''re in a highly populated area and surrounded by it.

Monarch- I might just try that...however, sometimes too much of the Febreze scent will bother my nose too.

My nose does not like really strong/pungent smells. Maybe I can bring a nicely scented candle and light it so that it''s not as stinky in the room. I''m still going to exit the room once the person returns from smoking though (the "fresh" smoke odor is really unbearable).

 

[monarch64]

Yup, candles might be a solution as long as your office permits them! My mom is like you, pretty much anything scented bothers her nose plus she has terrible allergies to like, everything, so she doesn''t even burn candles, she just uncaps them and freshens her home using that technique. The funniest thing is that she LOVES patchouli, which I find particularly skunky, it reminds me of kids in college who used patchouli oil to cover up the smell of weed! She loves it though. I just borrowed a paperback from her and as I was reading it last night i realized she must''ve had it right next to one of her virgin, never lit patchouli scented candles because it reeked! LOL! Scent is such a personal thing, different things are offensive to different people, so much of it is mental based on past experiences the brain has catalogued, and you can never tell what is pleasurable to one person but terribly offensive to another.

 

[icekid]

Actually- having just finished my pediatrics rotation, I can tell you what we ask parents.

We tell parents to require any smokers to change their clothing before being around their child. I''m sure that it''s not nearly as bad as direct smoke, but that is what people are advised these days. I can''t stand being around any smoke either; fortunately it''s not often at all! Not too many doctors are smokers

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/26/2007 11:59:53 PM
Author: monarch64
Sugarplum, would it be possible for you to maybe keep a can of Oust or Febreze or something that is supposed to get rid of smoke odors at your desk and use it when that person goes out for a smoke break? Maybe by the time they got back you could ''pre-neutralize'' the area so it won''t bother you so much?

I quit smoking ~4 months ago. My DH still smokes, and I can''t stand the smell if he walks in the door after he''s just had a cigarette, isn''t that awful? He keeps a bottle of Febreze in his car now, and he goes and washes his hands/brushes his teeth before he gives me a hug and kiss most of the time.

Also I find that if I''m sitting in traffic, I can smell cigarette smoke coming from the cars around me or even passersby on the street, I never even used to notice it, but now it kind of bugs me, because even when I''m sitting in my own car I can''t get away from it. No wonder it is so tough to quit, especially when you''re in a highly populated area and surrounded by it.

YAY FOR YOU MONNIE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/27/2007 12:18:37 AM
Author: scarleta

Date: 7/26/2007 7:46:47 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 7/26/2007 6:48:00 PM

Author: AmberGretchen

I think that''s an excellent choice - generally, when something is that unpleasant and overpowering chances are good there may be something harmful there.

like the 99.9% skunk oil people call perfume? (skunks smell better than some of it) :}

that is so funny Strm.... I tend to agree with you on that..More and more places put '' no perfume '' signs in some places...
Now as for 2nd hand smoke I am exposed to it myself..The neighbours accross the fence all smoke outside , because they don''t want to'' stink up '' their place. It really stinks the wind blows it in every direction..Not a pleasant smell not to mention what it does to my health.

I don''t feel dressed without my perfume!

 

[chrono]

I am very sensitive to scents. I hate perfume. Even Oust and Febreeze smells stinky to me. I choke (can't seem to breathe) when my nose detects those smells. Sorry Lorelei.

 

[scarleta]

Date: 7/27/2007 6:57:33 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/27/2007 12:18:37 AM

Author: scarleta

Date: 7/26/2007 7:46:47 PM

Author: strmrdr

Date: 7/26/2007 6:48:00 PM


Author: AmberGretchen


I think that''s an excellent choice - generally, when something is that unpleasant and overpowering chances are good there may be something harmful there.

like the 99.9% skunk oil people call perfume? (skunks smell better than some of it) :}

that is so funny Strm.... I tend to agree with you on that..More and more places put '' no perfume '' signs in some places...

Now as for 2nd hand smoke I am exposed to it myself..The neighbours accross the fence all smoke outside , because they don''t want to'' stink up '' their place. It really stinks the wind blows it in every direction..Not a pleasant smell not to mention what it does to my health.

I don''t feel dressed without my perfume!

L: I am talking here not a bit of nice perfume, but lots of it that stinks.You know when you can follow someone by their scent as it lingers for miles..

 

[Skippy123]

ugh, I hate the smell of smoke or really strong perfume. They tend to give me a migraine. bleh, thank goodness my dh has been smokefree for 2.5 yrs!!!!!!

Congrats and cheers to your health Monarch!!!

Scarleta which city does not allow perfume in certain areas? Very interesting !

 

[door knob solitaire]

We bought an ozone machine. Thought it was like snake oil...but proved our doubts wrong. This machine is what the hotels use to wipe out offensive odors. Especially smoke. Car dealers pay to have a service with the very machine.

Sharper image offers some small ones. Not sure of their effectiveness. But if you were wanting to spend $1200 I know it works.

Had a warehouse fire while in the furniture business. Everything was smoke damaged. I am talking about soft goods such a upholstered items. Total loss...eehhh want a minute...got the machine and viola...no smell. Not one penny was lost. The good ones work.

DKS

 

[scarleta]

Its Vancouver, but just some places like I have seen it in some medical / massage/ Physio offices.I am sure if one just has a bit of it would be fine.ON the other hand if one puts the whole bottle imagine the therapist beeing there in closed room working and breating it..I have also seen a saying: due to severe allergies no perfumes. In this case I suppose none is allowed..