Social smoker

[Wayne045]

Recently joined a dating site.    Looking at profiles I see very, very few admitted daily smokers.   However I do see “social smoker” quite often.   So what does it mean to be a social smoker theses days when smoking has been banned from pretty much all restaurants, clubs, bars, malls, and so on (at least in the US).   Even outdoor venues don’t allow it.   The only places I can think of are private parties at someone’s home.

 

Also, is there such a person that only smokes in a social gathering?   I highly doubt it, they are trying to justify it.

 

Thoughts?

Edited June 20, 2022 by Wayne045

[jillar]

This subject was brought up on qsmb years ago and someone there posted this video:

 

 

Ps. I moved your topic from questions for admin and mods to the main board  

[intoxicated yoda]

@Wayne045the probability that they only smoke in certain situations is very low.  not saying such an animal doesn't exist but more than likely they are trying to say they smoke without admitting they smoke.

[Kris]

If you smoke, you smoke.  If you are kidding yourself about when, where and how much it will not serve you in any situation.  I did not smoke much as a teenager but it led to 40 years pack a day habit.  But it was only social, who you kidding!

No one.

[Reciprocity]

Anyone who's a smoker knows ' an addict is an addict' and there's No Way you can be a nicotine addict and then just choose when to smoke and when not to. Nicotine addiction is a seriously strong addiction and once you're hooked - you're hooked. It takes a concentrated effort over a long period of time to reach complete freedom from the clutches of nicotine addiction.

And make NO mistake, just because we quit does not mean we are no longer addicts. We can all secure our freedom but we must always remain on guard and never take our achievement for granted!

 

I also laugh to myself when I heard someone say; "I'm a secret smoker. I sneak outside to have a smoke so no one will know." LOL; who you kidding? Non-smokers can always smell stale smoke on someone who's just had one! All the perfume, mouthwash and brushing of teeth can't hide that aroma. It's on your clothes and in your hair! The lies we tell ourselves as practicing nicotine addicts 

 

[Doreensfree]

Oh !!!!!

The lies a smoker will tell to try and justify to themselves that's it ok to smoke now and again ...

They are not real smokers ...they can take it or leave it ....and just smoke socially ...

Smoking is not looked on now as a social thing ..we the public ...have woken up to this horrible addiction 

that will kill you ...

They are still in the grips of addiction ...whether you smoke one a day or a hundred ..your still a smoker ..

[Wayne045]

10 hours ago, reciprocity said:

… Non-smokers can always smell stale smoke on someone who's just had one! All the perfume, mouthwash and brushing of teeth can't hide that aroma. It's on your clothes and in your hair! The lies we tell ourselves as practicing nicotine addicts 

 

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

 

 

[Reciprocity]

6 hours ago, Wayne045 said:

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

 

 

Actually, when I smoked I could not smell it on me or anyone else just after they'd had a smoke but once I was quit for awhile, it hit me like a brick one day when someone walked by me who had obviously just had a smoke. I was shocked! The stench of stale cigarette smoke was so strong. I remember thinking to myself at that moment; is that what I smelled like to others all the years I smoked? I was embarrassed that I had been so offensive to so many people over the years 

[Doreensfree]

Oh !!!!...Me too..

All those hugs I've given out over the years ...it must have been so gross to the Non Smokers ...

Thankfully they were too polite to tell me I stink ..

[garry mhudson]

During my life I can honestly say I have known only one person who truly may have been a social smoker. You never know for sure. I could have passed for a social smoker my last couple years of smoking because I had cut down so much going 8 hours without smoking was possible and happened during work hours. First thing after work, light up. Maybe I was only smoking 4 or five a day, I was still smoking. Addiction levels can be reduced and perhaps it is better for you but it is still smoking.  I am so happy to be rid of that completely that going back or trying to be a social smoker makes no sense. Better to kick the stink completely out of your life and take away the option of the social smoker out of your life. NOPE means NOPE!

[Kate18]

I saw this on YouTube the other day, and remembered when I DECIDED to quit, not just "smoke socially," or taper off over time, or whatever rationalization was letting me try to fool myself that I was addicted to nicotine. I quit the week before Covid hit my county in February 2020. I previously worked in an infectious diseases clinic and also coordinated medical conferences. Every so often we'd have a guest speaker present information on how the next pandemic would start and spread. I watched it on the map online as it crept across China and heard the news about deaths and how smokers were vulnerable. Done. Quit. Cold Turkey. The virus wouldn't have cared if I was a "social smoker."

 

I remember, also, about trying to keep to half a pack a day, or whatever. OK, is it time yet? Should I have one now, or save it for later when I might want it more? Decision fatigue. Made the desire for one even stronger. It is hard to let go, I know. But you can do this.  Good luck.