How to Live with a Smoker

What could be worse than having to share someone else’s bad habits?  If you live with a smoker, you are at the mercy of their addiction to nicotine – because whenever a cigarette or cigar is lit, the hazards that go hand in hand with smoke exposure are spread to whoever is closest. 

• About 20% of the U.S. population smokes
• 22.3% of men smoke
• 17.4% of women smoke
• 30-40% of smokers try to quit
• Only 4-5% of smokers are actually able to quit on their own

So, your chances of living with a smoker are roughly 20%  - that's about 1 out of every 5 people.

If you are a non-smoker and live with a smoker, you probably know every annoying thing that I’m about to list – and you could probably add some to it, too! If you are a smoker, here are some things that you might not even notice, but they are enough to drive a non-smoker nuts.

The Smell

This has to be the biggest annoyance caused by smoke. Smokers often do not realize just how strong the smell is because they have an impaired sense of smell because of smoking. Smoke has actually burned out their sense of smell, so the true intensity of the odor does not even register a smoker.

A non smoker not only smell the smoke in a room, but afterwards can smell it on their clothing or hair – or in their car if someone smoked while driving with them. Non-smokers are plagued by the odor from a smoker who lived in their house years before they even moved in, not to mention the smell from neighbor’s smoke leaching into their living space.

The Clouds

The hazy, grey cloud of smoke that linger in the air and up at the ceiling is also a major annoyance. These smoke clouds are actually made of up tiny bits of ash from a burning cigarette. Walking into the home of a smoker can sometimes feel like you’re walking into a dense fog of choking chemicals. The truth is that tobacco smoke is made up of nearly 4,000 chemicals as well as a sizable number of carcinogens and other contaminants (benzene, butane and hydrogen cyanide, etc).

But it’s what you can’t see that could really harm you. Fine Particulate Matter (FPM) created by cigarette smoke, are tiny particles that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Because of the tiny size of FPM, the particles are easily inhaled and become lodged in the deepest recesses of the lungs, potentially causing damage.

The Dust

A home with a smoker is going to be dustier and need cleaning more often than a non-smoker’s house. All of that smoke that lingers in the air will eventually settle onto your furniture, tables, computer keyboard, or whatever else is nearby. The added frustration for non-smokers and smokers alike is the sticky texture the tar that accompanies the dust. Smoke dust has a tendency to sticks to things because of this tar-like tackiness. Computers and other electronics are more likely to bite the dust before their time when in a smoker’s house, since dust is widely known to wreck havoc on electronics.

The grunge

You thought that the dust was bad, but what about the rest of the cigarette grunge? I’m talking about the yellowing of the walls, the sticky residue left on the window panes, the ash trays full of cigarette butts, the “missed” piles of ash, the holes in table cloths and upholstery, etc.

The Cost

Cigarettes aren’t cheap – and the addictive quality of nicotine makes smokers dependant on having a regular supply. How much money does smoking cost you?

• Cigarettes cost about $4-$6 per pack in the U.S.
• The average amount of cigarettes smoked per smoker per day is 13 (based on a study by the US Department of Health and Human Services)
• The monthly cost to maintain the nicotine habit is going to be between $78 and $117
• For a year’s worth of cigarettes, the total could be as much as $1423.50!

Imagine this scenario: you wake up, get dressed in your brand new clothing and eat breakfast before leaving your home for the routine commute to work. But on this morning, you only take a few steps outside your door when you are caught off guard by a whiff of some awful, stale odor. The smell is so concentrated and musty in comparison to the fresh air that it seems to be coming from something nearby.

What a surprise to realize that the source of the stale stink is you!

Your new clothing has taken on a tainted odor since you brought them home from the store. Your hair permeates the air with a dreadful stench. Your briefcase and all of your work related papers also smell like something dragged out of an old ashtray. You have never smoked a day in your life, so why is it that you smell like a smoker? If your home (or workplace) is filled with cigarette or cigar smoke, you are going to share all the unpleasant side effects that tobacco smoke has to offer. Believe me - the problems are much more serious than simply smelling bad!

Smoke is dangerous - no matter how large or small the dosage!

Second Hand Smoke.  More and more evidence is showing that second hand smoke can be just as dangerous as actually smoking.  This means that if you share a home, a car or a workplace with a smoker, you are at risk of developing the same illnesses as you would if you smoked too.  Many non-smokers have died of lung cancer because they shared their home with a smoking spouse.

Third Hand Smoke.  Long after a smoker has put out their cigarette, the risks associated with smoking still remain.  What is now being called “third hand smoke” is actually a fine film of chemicals and contaminants that cover clothing, furniture, dashboards, etc.  The odor that permeates a room or lingers on someone’s clothing is actually evidence of residual, toxic chemicals.  Third hand smoke is especially dangerous for children who spend more time on the floor where the majority of these chemicals settle after smoking.

Smoking destroys your body from the inside out.  You might be familiar with some of the warnings that are given to smokers about the damage smoke has on the lungs, heart and brain.

90% of lung cancer deaths are cause by smoking

¼ Of all heart disease deaths are caused by smoking

People married to or living with smokers are 42% more likely to have stroke

25% of all smokers will develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Smoking or sharing a home with a smoker can affect you on the outside as well as the inside.  Basically, smoking destroys your appearance as well as your health.  In 1985, the term “Smoker’s Face” was officially added to the medical dictionary.  Here’s a glimpse of what smoker’s face looks like:

• Very deep creases and wrinkles on the face – radiating out from the upper and lower lips, the corners of the eyes, cheeks.
• Subtle gauntness to the face, as if the skin is sagging over the bones beneath.  The cheeks hallow out and the skin itself becomes leathery and worn-looking.
• A gray tinge to the skin.
• Smoking cigarettes on a daily basis can quickly add 10-20 years to your appearance.  You might as well stop wasting money on anti-aging skin creams if you live with a smoker, but it is a loosing battle.  Most smokers or smoker’s spouses find their appearance changes to the “middle age” look while they are only in their early 30’s.

Smoking will give you a complete make-over – and it’s not going to be pretty:

• Yellow or stained fingernails

• Hair loss and hair thinning (in both men and women)

• Tooth decay, tooth loss and gum disease (tooth loss in smokers occurs at a rate of 2.9 teeth every 10 years for men and 1.5 teeth every 10 years for women!)

• Smoker’s breath or halitosis

As I’ve mentioned, smoking has a huge impact of your health and your appearance, but what about the rest of your life?  Here are just a couple of examples of how smoking can affect your life:

Depression linked to smoking:  A recent study reveals that smoking actually causes depression.  The researchers surveyed 3,000 people in the St. Louis area and their results were astonishing.  Smokers had a 6.6% risk of developing lifetime frequency of major depression, while smokers were only at a 2.9% risk.

Anxiety linked to smoking:  An alarming number of smokers suffer from anxiety.  A study of 60,000 people conducted at the University of Bergen and King’s College.  Out of all of the participants, 9.6% had anxiety problems.

Households with smokers are more likely to experience hunger or food related insecurities.

32% of children in low income homes with food insecurity.  Simply put, children who live with smokers were more likely to experience hunger than those who lived with non-smokers.  This is a very sad fact, but research has shown it to be true.  The reason for this might be partially because when funds become tight, some parents would rather ration the money for their cigarettes than use it to buy food.  Another facet that might influence this statistic is lost jobs or productivity of a parent due to illnesses associated with smoking.

Here are just a few of the different strategies that non-smokers have tried to keep the peace with their smoking spouse, partner or parents and minimize the smoke.

Opening windows. This seems like it would make the most sense, but depending on where you are the air current can actually draw more smoke into a room. This is because it is nearly impossible to control where smoke goes in your home. Central heating or air conditioning will create pressure that draws smoke throughout the house, either through ductwork, from under the cracks in a closed door, etc. Opening a window sometimes draws all the smoke into the room as the pressure from the indoor environment it released through the window, causing you to get the brunt of the smoke.

Air Fresheners and candles. Some air fresheners and candles are sold as a remedy to the stink of cigarette smoke. In some cases, the scents are able to mask the smoke smell, but the dangers of smoking are still present. All of the chemicals put off by a burning cigarette are still in the air, but the pleasant smell only makes it so that you can ignore the noxious fumes you are breathing.

Making smokers go outside. In most cases, it is hard to persuade a smoker to take their cigarettes outside. Bad weather or the inconvenience of stepping outside sometimes proves to be too much. This is a step in the right direction, because when you ask the smokers in your home to go outside before lighting up, you are ensuring that the majority of the pollution created by smoke will stay outside.

Clean ashtrays out after each use. Ash trays are a source of odor and indoor air pollution. Ash from cigarettes carries a lot of smell, so dumping the trays will get rid of some of the odor as well as the chemicals and fine particles that are released into the air.

Set up a smoking room. One way to keep smoke out of your house is by making a smoking room. By creating a designated room for smoke, you can isolate where the smoke is and try to neutralize it before it travels throughout the rest of the house. Close the return air vents to the room, open the window just a crack (to offset the pressure from the heat or air conditioning), and use a home smoke eater to help reduce the clouds of smoke as well as the smoke odors.

Wash down walls and floors periodically. Smoke residue can build up on the walls and floors, so it is important to wash them regularly. After washing a few walls, take a look at the water in the bucket you are using and notice the yellow tinge – that sticky, yellow grime needs to be cleaned off regularly in order to make your home into a healthy environment.

Clean your carpeting and furniture regularly. Fabrics are notorious for absorbing the odor of smoke. Rent a carpet cleaner every once in a while to really remove the built up from smoke as well as the smell.

Don’t allow smoking near children or moms-to-be. Smoke has a far greater impact of the health of children than adults. This is partially because children have smaller lungs – so the same amount of smoke that would harm an adult would be completely overwhelming to a child. Also, lungs are still developing throughout early childhood and can be easily damaged by pollution, causing problems later in life. Smoking around pregnant women is proven to cause an increased chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), stunted brain development, lung development problems and infant cancers. Remember - smoking and kids should never mix!