Do you see smokers anymore?

[kirstenhill]

Almost never where I live.  I'm pretty sure indoor smoking in public place is banned here, but I feel like other than maybe the rare person at a park or standing at the side of a building, I don't see it very often.  DH and I started watching a TV series recently where many characters smoke...it's just so weird seeing it!

[Meriwether]

I just looked up the percentage of smokers in my area and was shoked to see that it is 18 percent. Very few people that I regularly interact with in person smoke. Like 2. And I by regularly I mean that I am likely to see them at least 3-6 times per year. It just isn't seen much in my family, church, homeschool, and martial arts circles.

[SKL]

I know a number of people that secretly smoke because they don't want their loved ones / kids to realize it.

My friend whose taxes I used to do was a smoker.  I would come home smelling like a used cigarette after a visit to her house.  She died a few years ago.  😞

I know the high school kids who would have been smokers in my day are now vapers.

But no, I don't see people walking around with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths much.  Sometimes, yes, but not like before, when they would clog up every commercial doorway etc.

[Janeway]

Yes. Every time I go out in public. The grocery store nearest me allows their employees to sit on benches just to the side of the front door and smoke. Even beyond there, I see it pretty much every time I go out. I do not know anyone who smokes personally. I do not think any of my neighbors do, as I never smell it in my own neighborhood. I stood outside an expensive store last year, waiting in line to enter, limited entry with masks only. There was a mandate for the county for masks. There was no mandate against public smoking. So someone waiting in line was smoking.  There has apparently been a rise in teen smoking too. They vape and sometimes, when they cannot afford the vaping, they move on to cigarettes to get their nicotine fix.

 

https://www.nber.org/digest/oct00/dramatic-rise-teenage-smoking

I cannot take seriously any mandates on behalf of the government for Covid or anything else whole smoking is still legal and cigarettes are sold in local stores.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Janeway

[wathe]

35 minutes ago, Meriwether said:

I just looked up the percentage of smokers in my area and was shoked to see that it is 18 percent. Very few people that I regularly interact with in person smoke. Like 2. And I by regularly I mean that I am likely to see them at least 3-6 times per year. It just isn't seen much in my family, church, homeschool, and martial arts circles.

My area is 20%.  

I think lots of people are surprised by the stats.  

Smokers aren't evenly distributed in the population.  Smoking strongly correlates with lower education and lower income; I think it's fair to assume that most of us on a classical education board aren't in the same demographic as the majority of smokers.

Smoking is also hidden in a way it didn't used to be:  it's banned in many public places - almost all indoor public spaces and many outdoor ones, smoking areas at workplaces tend to be around back hidden from the customers, and I also think there is a certain amount of social stigma so a lot of smokers will sneak away from a group to have their smoke away from the perceived disapproving eyes of non-smokers.

[wathe]

4 hours ago, Lecka said:

Cigarettes cost $8 a pack where I live.  I do see people smoke, but I am seeing more dip.  Which is also not really common — but I do see it.  

Here the price for a pack (20-25 cigarettes) is $12-$15.  Cigarettes are heavily taxed.  

Also, they must have plain packaging (brown) with no branding or logos.  A one of several standardized official pictorial health warnings must cover 75% of the package.  The resulting package is decidedly unattractive.

And still 20% of adults in my county smoke.  Addiction is powerful.

[Teaching3bears]

12 minutes ago, wathe said:

Here the price for a pack (20-25 cigarettes) is $12-$15.  Cigarettes are heavily taxed.  

Also, they must have plain packaging (brown) with no branding or logos.  A one of several standardized official pictorial health warnings must cover 75% of the package.  The resulting package is decidedly unattractive.

And still 20% of adults in my county smoke.  Addiction is powerful.

Yikes! I don’t know how anyone would be able to put a cigarette in their mouth right after looking at that picture.

[wathe]

5 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

Yikes! I don’t know how anyone would be able to put a cigarette in their mouth right after looking at that picture.

I know right?  There a bunch of official different pictoral warnings.  Most of them are equally lovely to look at.

Addiction really is a powerful thing.

 

[sbgrace]

Yes, some people I know and some I just see randomly (outside restaurants, the court house, etc) 

Google says almost 25% of my county popluation are smokers. That's a bit surprising. 

[Faith-manor]

Yes, all the time. I live in an area that is still known for having a lot of smoking. 

[DawnM]

this is how much I don't see smokers.....

I read this thread and thought it was about meat smokers and thought, "Yeah, we have one!"

[Hoggirl]

My bil (who is 18 years old than my sil) has smoked since he was a teen. He’s 78.  He has lung cancer.  He’s had chemo and radiation.  He still smokes.  Never quit.  Never attempted to quit, even after he was diagnosed.  He has a medical marijuana card for his cancer, so he smokes that, too. 

[Clarita]

When I was working there were 3 people who smoked (out of 50 or so people). 2 who were probably 1 a day and were not proud of it and 1 smoked like a chimney. I think for the 2 who were 1 a day most people didn't really know, I sat near a door so I knew (I could smell it on them when they came back). Now that I am SAHM I rarely see people smoking. 

I do know CA is harsh on smokers with it's rules. So I think that helps in reducing the number of people who might start and/or just hiding it from the non-smoking populous. I see a lot more smoking when I visit my family in Hong Kong. Seeing young people smoke cigarettes is surprising to me (surprising in a "that's different" way).  

[BeachGal]

When I walk to Trader Joe’s, I pass a residential psychiatric rehabilitation facility and the front of the building will be crowded with patients who are smoking.

[ieta_cassiopeia]

Yes, I do see some people smoking. Mostly right under the "No Smoking on Site" sign where I work (I'm told it is because the people doing it are creatures of habit, who haven't managed to break the habit despite considerable effort on their part, and management prefers to be able to monitor them in a known safe place than tell them off in the knowledge they will find somewhere less conspicuous to smoke).

Seriously, it's a lot rarer than 15 years ago - the ban on public places gradually put off a lot of people from smoking, as did decreased visibility of cigarette purchase points. Even vaping, which I had worried for a time would replace cigarettes for a new generation, seem to have only taken off among a few, fairly isolated, groups of people. Partly this is because e-cigarettes are banned in most of the same places standard cigarettes are.

[Ellie]

Yes.

[GailV]

Yes.

Usually college kids or others age 20-30. I think maybe it's considered edgy???

[Alicia64]

I see a few at the dog park. One man seems to be smoking while running his dog and hiding from his wife.

[Wheres Toto]

22 hours ago, alisoncooks said:

 Not as often, and I’m especially surprised to see young smokers. Our neighbors are young, with a new baby, and I’m always surprised to see the dad on the back porch, smoking. 

This sounds bad, but I see it most among lower income and/or lower levels of education. All of DH’s extended family smoke like chimneys. (We ourselves are lower income, though not education, but we HATE the smell of cigarette smoke — holidays with that side suck.)

I very rarely see people smoking in public where I live, but dh and I have quite a few family members that smoke and it does seem to correlate with lower income/education levels.   

I do remember smoking and non-smoking areas of restaurants, cigarette machines, etc.   My state was one of the earlier ones to ban it indoors.  I think it's only allowed in casinos and cigar bars at this point.   And I'm pretty sure its fairly limited in casinos. 

We also have a really high tax on cigarettes.  I remember going to buy my mother's cigarettes when I was a kid (for $1 a pack) and I also remember when they raised the age to buy them.   

[SeaConquest]

18 hours ago, Lawyer&Mom said:

I smell cannabis 10x more frequently than cigarettes.  I think smoking pot is far more socially acceptable in my area than cigarettes, but I don’t actually see people smoking either.  Just smell it. 

Same. Hardly ever smell cigarette smoke anymore. Cannabis is *by far* more common, and a lot of people use cannabis vape pens/consume edibles and those don't smell. So, I am sure the number of cannabis users is actually way higher than my nose imagines. 

I was vaccinating a guy the other day who studies third-hand tobacco smoke, and I said, "Oh gosh. That's so interesting, but no one smokes here anymore! Thankfully." He said that he has to travel to the Midwest to get samples/data/controls because of how infrequently they were able to get what they needed out here (So Cal) to do his work. We also joked about how he could his work if he was studying third-hand smoke from weed vs tobacco. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

39 minutes ago, SeaConquest said:

Same. Hardly ever smell cigarette smoke anymore. Cannabis is *by far* more common, and a lot of people use cannabis vape pens/consume edibles and those don't smell. So, I am sure the number of cannabis users is actually way higher than my nose imagines. 

I was vaccinating a guy the other day who studies third-hand tobacco smoke, and I said, "Oh gosh. That's so interesting, but no one smokes here anymore! Thankfully." He said that he has to travel to the Midwest to get samples/data/controls because of how infrequently they were able to get what they needed out here (So Cal) to do his work. We also joked about how he could his work if he was studying third-hand smoke from weed vs tobacco. 

 

I know what second hand smoke is, but what is third hand smoke?

[ScoutTN]

18 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

Cigar smoking seems to be acceptable in a way cigarette smoking is not. Like it is classy or something.

I have noticed this too. Though the men who partake do so maybe 4-5x a year. The smell is not as noxious, but I would assume it’s equally unhealthy.

[ScoutTN]

Only one smoker in my regular circles. Definitely from a lower socio-economic group. 

I see it outside at times, but not often. That reflects my circles more than my state. Google says that in 2019 22.6% of my state were smokers.

Edited November 14, 2021 by ScoutTN

[Bootsie]

DH and I wonder how we every breathed as children.  We have concluded that we didn't notice the cigarette smoke so much because we didn't know what clean air smelled like.  My parents would have a party and walking through the house would be like walking through fog through the next day becasuse of all of the cigarette smoke.  DH's parents were both heavy smokers; we have had some of his mother's items for a quarter of a century now, and I opened up the china cabinet yesterday and could still smell cigarette odor.

DH and I do not know many people our age who smoke; we do know a number of people from our parents' generation who smoke although they are in their 80s and 90s.  And, we also see a number of people younger than we are who are smoking; we wonder if that is just a phas they are going through.  

[katilac]

I don't 'see' it much, because most indoor places don't allow smoking. My extended family does have a few smokers, but, even outside, they walk very far away to smoke. 

Louisiana is right at 22% for smokers - I would have guessed lower based on what I see in day-to-day life. 

I've been reading the Elizabeth Daly mysteries set in 1940s America, and I swear the books would be much shorter if you removed all mention of smoking and drinking! Apparently, most people kept a stash of cigarettes on hand to offer guests, and a pretty full bar. Both saw some heavy-duty action on the daily, not just at cocktail parties. Nobody thought twice about smoking inside, and I keep thinking that their houses must have smelled pretty horrific. 

[SeaConquest]

12 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I know what second hand smoke is, but what is third hand smoke?

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/thirdhand-smoke/

[Terabith]

13 hours ago, SeaConquest said:

Same. Hardly ever smell cigarette smoke anymore. Cannabis is *by far* more common, and a lot of people use cannabis vape pens/consume edibles and those don't smell. So, I am sure the number of cannabis users is actually way higher than my nose imagines. 

I was vaccinating a guy the other day who studies third-hand tobacco smoke, and I said, "Oh gosh. That's so interesting, but no one smokes here anymore! Thankfully." He said that he has to travel to the Midwest to get samples/data/controls because of how infrequently they were able to get what they needed out here (So Cal) to do his work. We also joked about how he could his work if he was studying third-hand smoke from weed vs tobacco. 

 

What is third hand smoke?  

Oops.   That will teach me to ask a question before reading the rest of the thread.  Sorry.  Carry on and thank you!

Edited November 15, 2021 by Terabith

[skimomma]

Yep.  Just about any time I leave the house.  About half of my local friends smoke.  Interestingly, they all have at least a master's degree.

[J-rap]

I see it a lot, probably every day.  We live in an inner-city (large metro area) neighborhood though so there are always people standing outside of buildings here and there smoking on a break, or after dinner or whatever.  I really don't mind the smell of fresh cigarette smoke.  On the other hand, I detest the smell of weed, and I smell that almost every time I walk outside too.  It just stinks so much.

No one in my circle of friends or relatives smokes.

Edited November 15, 2021 by J-rap

[Selkie]

I saw stats that showed somewhere around 75% of smokers in the US are low income. That is pretty sad, especially considering what an expensive habit it is.

[theelfqueen]

I found this site interesting- linked to my state but other info available 

https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/smoking-region/tobacco-use-colorado-2020

Apparently smoking is cheaper here and less common than the norm. 

[TravelingChris]

The only statistic I could find was  the 2020 rate throughout my state which was 21%.   But what that means it for me is I normally don't see smokers because they moved the bus stop and one hospital smoking areas. I no longer get my hair cut and styled at the mall which has a bus stop so I don't see many smokers here.

I was traveling last weekend to a mixed small town, college towns, and rural areas. The smoker I saw was at a rural gas  and smoking right by the door and flicking the ashes into one of my those tall plastic ashtrays.  At another rural station my dh stopped at this get some beer, no one was smoking but big ad on door for  some no name cigarettes for $10.59 or something close.  There were other ads for Newports and some other brands and I figure those are more expensive.  That price was for a pack.  

[salobrarphotographic]

I do see them on a daily basis. Almost every adult male in my neighborhood smokes. Maybe not much, but they definitely do, and not only tobacco.
I have tried too, but I did not like it and still don’t understand why people waste money on this. But, maybe they know something that I don’t, and I try not to judge them for their choices. I take some CBN Isolate casually too. It does not affect my psychoactive state, but I feel more relaxed when taking it. Maybe something similar feels people who smoke.

Edited June 29, 2022 by salobrarphotographic

[theelfqueen]

Zombie

Edited June 24, 2022 by theelfqueen
Zombie

[Lisa]

None of my immediate family smokes and many of my extended family have quit smoking. Since businesses and restaurants don't allow smoking inside anymore, I rarely see smokers.

[Forget-Me-Not]

A fair amount. We moved from CA a year ago, where I hardly ever saw smokers. In our new location, I see people smoking in their cars all the time (which baffles me. . . don’t they care about resale value???). 
 

We are building a house and several of the subcontractors smoke apparently. I’ve seen some butts/empty cig packets on the job site. I found an empty pack IN the house right after they delivered sheet rock and I was like “Oh 🤬no!” so the general contractor put up a big “No Smoking” sign on the door after that. 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Forget-Me-Not

[QueenCat]

Zombie Thread

[elinnea]

On 11/13/2021 at 1:03 PM, mellifera33 said:

Yup, here too. And just this morning, as I drove over a viaduct named for the old pickle company, I remembered the vinegar smell that was so prominent in the area when I was a kid. Now it smells skunky from all the cannabis processing going on in the old buildings. 

I think we must be from the same town as I know exactly what you're talking about.  Our famous aroma is now from cannabis.  Ha ha.

[Elizabeth86]

Yep, it seems pretty common in my family. My dh smokes unfortunately.

[kiwik]

Yes.  I live down the street from a hospital, the kids oral health clinic for the city and a daycare.  All the staff who smoke have to leave the property and stand on the street to smoke.

[Melissa in Australia]

Yes 

 my neighbour smokes. He is 70, on oxygen day and night now. cannot get across a room so has a mobility scooter . He is dying the slow death . His wife died of cancer caused by smoking 7 years ago. His daughter has quit work and shifted in to look after him. she smokes as well . She thinks or at least tells everyone that she only smokes once a day and always outside, but  dh go over at odd times of the day  to see if neighbour needs a hand and she is  always smoking, in the hose right beside her father who is oxygen. His son lives up the road . He smokes and his lungs are fried as well. 

it is a terribly additive thing. Terrible

Edited June 25, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[maize]

My neighbors on both sides smoke. The people on the other side of them smoke (one house) or vape (the other house). The people in the next house down smoke as well.

Other than in my own neighborhood no, I don't see smoking much. It isn't tolerated in public spaces.

[Clarita]

I don't see it much, but I live in an area where smoking is openly shamed. 

At one of my jobs there were 3 people who routinely smoked. 2 did it probably twice a day, but one guy needed a hit at least twice every hour. I don't know how that one guy got any work done.  

[Scarlett]

One of our neighbors smokes…..seems like he only smokes on his back patio although I don’t know for sure.  We have 1/2 lots so it doesn’t bother me too bad but yesterday when I was on our pool deck and he was near his fence which doesn’t connect to our fence I could smell it.  I find it revolting and annoying.  

Our oldest son was smoking but we saw him this week and he has switched to dipping which is less smelly but equally revolting.  
 

My brother smokes but I don’t see him very often.Maybe 2 times a year.  I find it very very difficult to have any relationship with smokers.  

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

I know a lot of healthcare workers who smoke or vape. Not doctors, but a lot of CNAs and ER techs.  You actually have to go off hospital property to smoke or vape but they still get smoke breaks.

A lot of the paramedics/EMTs I work with smoke or vape.  It drives me crazy because we let our dispatchers take smoke breaks where they get to go outside and smoke for fifteen minutes. But if you don’t smoke you don’t get a break, which is completely unfair(you can take a break to walk across the street to the convenience store for a snack if you have someone else in the building who’s trained to dispatch, but that’s about it).

I hate smoking and vaping so I am grouchy about it anyway.

[SHP]

On 11/13/2021 at 10:33 AM, Joker2 said:

I still see them all the time but maybe it’s because cigarette smoke bothers me so much. The worst is walking into or out of a store/restaurant and some jerk is smoking right outside the door even though they’re not supposed to. 

I risk anaphylaxis around cigarettes so am hypervigilant about it. One good thing from covid is that I realized how much better I can breathe wearing N95's everywhere. The smokers are still rude and seem to think their right to light up trumps the rights of those around them to breathe clean air, but I have less anxiety walking past them. 

Not that I go many places where it is an issue because covid.