My imagination?

Incidentally I don't use any air fresheners as they make me wheeze too, so do take care what you spray around your living space if you're sensitive to smells.

It's not your imagination but I think that some people are more aware of it than others. I can always tell if someone is a smoker if, for example, I meet them in the sort of place no one ever smokes. Both my parents smoked heavily and I always hated it. When my daughter was small and we went to visit, they did not smoke around her but when she got home I could smell it on her (and me).

I smoke myself but in deisgnated areas of my home and use burning oils and febreze on the sofa cushions etc to keep the air fresh and wash/spray my hands after a ciggy. I always ask my friends if they can smell smoke when they enter the house. They always say no, they can smell the oil burners. However, I have a customer who comes into my charity shop and she smells like an old ash tray to the point where I have to spray the shop when she has gone. I can't get excited about any of it, its all part of life's rich tapestry...there are worse things happening in the world!

In the days of smoking on the upper deck of busses, my OH sometimes caught the bus at the station which was only two stops from our house. He then had a short walk in the fresh air to reach home , but when he came in I could smell the tobacco odours and knew that he had travelled on the upper deck. His overcoat went out on the line to air.

I have a little china oil burner. Light a nightlight and put it in the bottom and fill the top bowl with hot water and lavender oil. I put it in the hall and it goes all over the house. Gets rid of cooking smells thoroughly especially in winter when it is too cold to leave windows open in the evening.
I have just realised that I don't know anyone who smokes now - all have dumped it some years ago.

Oldwoman, I don't think it your imagination. I think it depends how heavy a smoker the person it as to how strong the odour is. I do not allow anyone to smoke in our home. We do have a shelter and smoke bucket outside if they wish to smoke. I honestly don't see why we should have passive smoking inflicted on us. I also think, that like me you can probably smell it more because you are never in a smoking environment. I have an aroma diffuser that I put natural oils in, orange, lime, grapefruit etc, smells lovely.

You can certainly smell a smoker while she's in the room. After she's gone? Well, we all visit many rooms which smokers have also visited, and we don't feel permanently unwell. Could there be a psychological element here?

We've maybe become over-sensitive since the smoking ban. Yes, a room full of smokers was annoying. But one person smoking, across the room, didn't used to send us screaming for the exits. I've been in a theatre where an actor has smoked on stage and heard the self-conscious coughing start BEFORE the flame reached the cigarette!

It's not your imagination, and I just hate smokers for their inconsiderate behaviour in this respect. I have two carers coming into our smoke-free home three times a day, and those who come at weekend both smoke and seem to have a cigarette on their way here so when they walk into the house their clothes reek and it's worse when it's damp as the particles cling to the textile. They do both chew gum so they know their breath stinks but they basically don't care about the wafting stench coming from their clothes and when they've gone my mother's room stinks - they of course, open the window but it makes no difference other than cooling the room down which is totally unwanted as I need to keep a certain temperature for my mum who is not active. As for grinning and bearing it - I don't - I tell them every time. With your neighbour, however, you may not feel so confident, maybe you could introduce a diffuser into the room where you have coffee and point out to her that you have a new one - get around to the fact that you hate smells coming from the kitchen, and you may get her to realise she's offending you. Twice in the past when I've bought things from ebay, I've opened the package to find the contents stink of cigarette smoke and I've immediately complained. In my opinion, smokers should be made to understand how anti-social they are - and by that I include telling them how much they cost the NHS that non-smokers contribute towards.

exaltedwombatpeople like myself who have asthma, or other chronic lung diseases, don't imagine they can smell smoke, they react to the presence of smoke around them.

I think it depends on how acute your sense of smell is, and on the kind of tobacco or cigarettes smoked whether you can smell cigarette smoke next day or not.

As well as airing the rooms, try pouring a cupful of ordinary household vinegar into some suitable bowl or glass and standing it in the room where you detect the smell. Vinegar tends to absorb unpleasant odours. You'll need to throw the vinegar out afterwards.

Try Price's anti smoke odour t-lights, candles or diffuser (blue packet). Various supermarkets carry and John Lewis or online. They appear to work well.

People who smoke don't realise how awful they smell. Their clothes, skin, hair and everything they own stinks of stale tobacco. A friend gave me some books from his house and I had to throw them away because they smelt so bad. I bought a second hand toy off ebay for my granddaughter and I had to keep it in the garage for days because it had obviously come from a smoky place and then soak it in Milton so I can easily believe that there was a residue of an odour left in your house. I'm afraid I wouldn't have that guest again and tell her why if she asked!

GoldenAge said
"maybe you could introduce a diffuser into the room where you have coffee and point out to her that you have a new one - _get around to the fact that you hate smells coming from the kitchen, and you may get her to realise she's offending you_. "

How stunningly rude to give a guest the dawning realisation that they are offending you; and I am someone who heartily dislikes everything about smoking and its smell.

Either tell her plainly, or don't.

I keep a pungent terrier handy at all times.

I used to visit my dear friend and her house stank and so did I when I got home.

Bit extreme but l once let a short friendship slip by as the smell of smoke on the woman's clothes gave me a headache for the rest of the day. Not proud of it but l did not know her long enough to tell her, if you ever can.

radicalnan . When a young teenager, DD had a very close friend whose whole family smoked heavily. Although she herself had never smoked (and was particular about personal hygiene) her clothing always stank of stale smoke which permeated our house for long after she left - I always felt so sad for her.

I work in a library and when one customer returns books they absolutely stink of cigarette smoke!

I think people who smoke are used to the smell themselves and don,t realise how it can linger on their clothing, their hair and their breathe. You could introduce some plants into your house such as spider plants, small ivy,s and those type of plants which help to absorb pollutants in the atmosphere. I have an air purifier .....this is electronic and gives out ions (think that is the word) into the atmosphere to help purify it. The make is (Heaven Fresh) which I bought from Amazon. I bought this to help with a medical condition I have (nothing to do with smokers) but it leaves the room free of any smells and is small and lightweight enough to use in any room and is also silent so if it was needed in a bedroom overnight it does,nt disturb your sleep.

I visit a friend whose family smoke though she doesnt. Even if none of them are in I still smell when I get home. Everything goes in the wash

My husband used to smoke but never in the house, car or office. One day he came home and put his jacket on the end of the banisters. The smoke alarm was immediately activated, it was directly above said jacket. He gave up in the 80s but I can smell smoke on people, in houses, cars and even outside. So I think yes smells can permeate fabrics, and combine that with a very good sense of smell!

Yes it does and everyone/thing . I remember when smoking was still allowed in pubs. Even though I don't and never have smoked, when I got back home I had to strip off, including my underwear, before I sat down and put everything in the wash, then I would take a shower and wash my hair. Otherwise the whole house would stink. I really can't understand why anyone would start smoking in the first place.

Another anti-smoking rant, it doesn't matter how considerate smokers are we still get moaned at. I don't smoke in my house or car. I only smoke 2/3 cigarettes a day.

As for smokers costing NHS, taxation on cigarettes goes to the Treasury, if it's not passed on to NHS that's down to the Government.

I have a pollen allergy but am also allergic to many perfumes & cleaning products so all of you moaning about smoking I would ask do you use cleaning products with a strong smell? Do you use perfume? Maybe you use a perfume I'm allergic to?

That's my "two pen'orth", I'll keep my tin hat on & head below the parapet

Legs55

My sympathies - a lot of it gets to my lungs too - most cleaning products give my symptoms ranging from a headache to a full on asthma attack. I have got it worked out now. Fairy liquid was one of the worst and unless I rinsed the cups I could taste it all day. Now Waitrose Essentials for WUL anti-bac spray which is a clear liquid and bog standard floor cleaner and disinfectant.. Method polish - expensive but no aerosol chemicals and it smells very nice.

Thanks for all the replies - I didn't intend to start an anti-smoking rant Legs55! I would not say anything to upset my neighbour, she is a lovely lady and never smokes in someone elses home. I just wondered if still being able to smell smoke the next day was my imagination. I did actually buy some Fabreze fabric freshener and after having the windows open for several hours the smell disappeared.