I thought it obvious also, it was certainly obvious to me, even as a smoker, to smell it on another smoker when they were near me. But apparently not everyone is that observant. Once while in a long meeting, (in which everyone attending had known me for a least 2-3 years) we decided to break for 15 mins, so I went out for a smoke. When I came back, they were talking about me, the people who knew I smoked were trying to convince two of the others that I smoked and had likely just done so on the break. So one of the ladies just asked me point blank if I smoked. I said yes, and haven’t you ever noticed the smell on me? She said no, she hadn’t and declined to smell me right then, but their surprise did seem genuine. My only mitigation to get rid of smell after a cigarette was to wash my hands. Maybe I discovered the secret to hiding it . Other times, people I knew would walk by the smokers area and see me actually smoking and express surprise. I never tried keeping it a secret and assumed they could tell. So were these people just being nice or could they really not tell? People are not very observant at all, and I could get away with a lot of things, even when done in plain sight.
Another time while in the restroom, a guy came in reeking of cigar smoke, he washed his hands, face, and hair (he had a short buzz cut, so it was a simple task). Even that didn’t work as it was still on his clothing. But at least he tried, and I’m sure his coworkers appreciated his effort to eliminate the odor
People can be oblivious to what’s right in front of them