How to deal with unpleasant smells like cigarette smoke?

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Both of my parents smoke, and though they insist that the house doesn't smell of smoke at all as they only smoke in one room - which has a door which doesn't close properly which leads into the hallway, and they won't close any other doors in the house - it does to me. It gets into everything - I've been told both by family and friends before that all my clothes smell of smoke, and that I smell of smoke, and I really hate it. Aside from getting paranoid about smelling bad and inhaling the second hand smoke I just get really irritated by the smell - it's a part of the reason I stay in my bedroom all the time and even there I can sometimes smell it. It just really gets on my nerves and makes me feel like I can't breathe in properly.

Does anyone have any advice for dealing with unpleasant smells when you have to be around them all the time? I've tried telling myself just to ignore it or stop being stupid about it and it doesn't help. >.<

Can you use air freshener or use deodorizer?

Have you tried telling them to smoke outside or make a smoking porch?

Maybe if you pitched a tent in the yard and lived in it they would take your complaint more seriously. I have a sensitive nose, and theres no air freshener, incense, no vapor rub on the nostrils that will cover up some odors for me. I wonder about an air purifier though. Hmmm.

If im aware of a smell comin my way and im moving, i hold my breath while i pass it so i dont have to smell it.
This may not work if you live with the smell.

Tell them to consider Swedish snus and electronic cigarettes. As a smoker, this has done wonders in helping me cut down. In the next couple months, I plan on scaling back to just social smoking. Snus and electronic cigarettes have no smoke, hence no smell, and are far safer than traditional cigarettes. If interested, Google "tobacco harm reduction" and find out more. As someone on the spectrum, this has helped me transition from smoking to non smoking while still getting nicotine. As you know, us people on the spectrum have a hard time dealing with change, and this helps greatly.

You are 100% in the right. Your parents are being extremely selfish about the dangerous effects on their own child. 80% of smoke is invisible so they cannot say where it is going. You are breathing and absorbing loads of toxins and you have the right not to. You are too young to leave home so it's their responsibility not to inflict this on you. Give them lots of information such as this:

http://www.resourcesorg.co.uk/assets/pd ... eaflet.pdf

Wow, I'm sorry you have to live in such an environment. I couldn't cope with that. I agree that your parents are being very selfish and ignorant about this issue. I don't know where you live, but in the UK it's illegal to subject other people to second hand smoke and smoking isn't allowed in public places. The same respect should be extended to living spaces.

Closing doors against smells or smoke is useless. When I lived with my mother she would occasionally burn incense sticks despite me getting irate about it and telling her not to do it while I was in the house, because the smell gave me an extreme reaction and a headache (cigarette smoke does the same thing). She would tell me to just close the door to my room - which didn't help much at all. It is even more useless about something as pervasive as cigarette smoke.

I agree that you need to stand up for yourself about this. You aren't being unreasonable. If it's cold in the winter where you are, put on warm clothes and open all the windows in the house. If they complain, tell them it's so you don't have to breathe their smoke and go around smelling like an ashtray.

I'm so glad I don't know anyone who smoke because I'm very sensitive to it too. The electronic cigarettes sound like a great idea.

I'm sorry to say. But parents who smoke in their homes when they have kids are stupid. How can you be so uninformed. Basically because they are addicts. You risk getting cancer or ruin your lungs. It's unacceptable.

In the future people.will.definitely look.back. how some adult.could be this.stupid.

I told my mom even when I was younger that either smoking inside.stopped or I would.rather be adopted. There is nothing more disgusting than smoking. The smell tuck. I would rather have the smell of.feces. and that only smells bad. That doesn't slowly kill you.

Why isn't there laws against.this in 2012. You smoke everynear kids or at home. We take your.kids.

A bowl of white vinager sitting in the room will absorb most of the smoke smell.

I smoke, as does almost everybody in my house so we are used to it here, but I wouldn't smoke even in my own home if one of my kids said it bothered them.

My 16yo is the only one who doesn't smoke and she will smoke an occasional cigarette if her friends are over and smoking. She calls it "social smoking" and apparantly its common.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
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I'm hoping to get my mother to smoke outside on the downstairs porch (it has a roof) or smoke on our enclosed front porch if it's dark out, really freezing, or it's raining or snowing and the wind is blowing it on the porch. I don't know if she will though.

Normally the smell doesn't bother me and I don't even notice it but it might bother me after I start chemo.

There's no way smoke doesn't permeate everything in the house regardless of which room it's smoked in. Make a point of reminding your parents about the health risks of smoking and try to guilt them into smoking outside. This makes the whole thing an ordeal especially when it's cold. By marginalizing their behaviour you may increase their chances of at least cutting down. Having said that, it is their house. If they choose to smoke in it, there's not much you can do. Sucks though.

Thank you all for the replies.

There's little chance of convincing them to stop smoking or stop smoking inside the house. It's kind of a problem as we only have a small garden, we don't really have a back porch (and there's no space to stand in the front one) and the horrible weather in the winter means both that it rains a lot and that we can't really have windows open all the time. I've tried talking to them about smoking before, but they get annoyed as soon as I even mention it.

@League_Girl: I can use air freshener - that's what I'm doing at the moment, but it doesn't totally solve the problem. And there's not really space for a smoking porch. We only have a small back garden with no back porch, and they're unlikely to smoke outside in the horrible winter weather here. But thank you for the advice.

@Aharon: Haha, I've thought about it. Kind of decided against it in the end. I don't even have a tent, and they'd probably just get annoyed or think I was losing it. *googles air purifiers*

@Entek: I do the same, but nope, it's kind of hard to hold your breath all the time.

@dt18: Thanks for the suggestion. I doubt they'll listen, but I guess it's worth trying to suggest it to them. Or maybe I could just buy them some for Christmas? Hm.

@whirlingmind: Yikes. Thanks for the info - I'll take a look at it and see if I can casually slip any of it to them.

@Jinks: You know, I might actually try that. xD Thanks for the advice. And I agree - it's a horrible smell and closing doors doesn't really help much. My mum actually burns incense sticks sometimes to "cover up the smell of the smoke." It doesn't really work...

@loner1984: True, they are addicts, and I'm pretty sure they probably won't consider stopping. But I guess a lot of people are.

@OliveOilMom: Thanks for the vinegar advice. I guess the "social smoking" is quite common - I don't really know anyone of a similar age to me who smokes but I know a lot of people at school do.

@hanyo: Good luck with getting your mother to smoke outside - she should at least seriously consider it, especially if you're having to go through chemo. I hope she does.

@Ann2011: I agree; I'll try subtly hinting a bit more but I doubt anything I say will make that much of a difference...and it is their house, and they have a right to do whatever they want (as long as it's legal ) in it. Thanks for the reply.

You could tell them that it's alright them getting angry but you are angry because you don't have a choice in it, because you are a child, and that means they are disrespecting you, denying you rights and endangering your health. Tell them you will sue them for child endangerment.

PS I don't think an air freshener cuts it, all it does is slightly mask the smell, although I understand you say the smell is annoying you it's far more of concern about your health. Bad smells don't kill you, toxic air does.