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I used to have a roomate who would refuse to go outside to smoke, either cigs or joints, and it got so bad that I would have headaches in the morning (he'd be up all night playing WoW while I slept) My minis were kept in hard cases most of that time, and I was lucky that he would only smoke in his room, which was at the front of the apartment. He also would not close his door because of anxiety issues. I had to clean constantly and had to repaint his room when he left.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
I used to have a roomate who would refuse to go outside to smoke, either cigs or joints, and it got so bad that I would have headaches in the morning (he'd be up all night playing WoW while I slept) My minis were kept in hard cases most of that time, and I was lucky that he would only smoke in his room, which was at the front of the apartment. He also would not close his door because of anxiety issues. I had to clean constantly and had to repaint his room when he left.

Damn, that sucks. Most rental agreements have no-smoking terms (as when you move out it makes the house/apartment harder to rent to the next person).

When I still roleplayed at a guy's house I was glad that it was once a month, as he and some of the others smoked like they wanted cancer something fierce. The way two of them coughed though, sounded like they already got it good.

But at the end of every session I would come home feeling disgustingly greasy, tossing all my clothes in the washing machine as everything reeked of cancer.

Shame really, as the guy has a massive library of books on everything, now all ruined.

I find a lot of these anecdotes pretty far fetched tbh. It's like these people take their models out with them to hotbox their car or something. Absurd.

 MarsNZ wrote:
I find a lot of these anecdotes pretty far fetched tbh. It's like these people take their models out with them to hotbox their car or something. Absurd.

Have you ever lived with or known a heavy smoker? Absolutely everything reeks of cigarettes. The walls get a thin coating of nicotine. Fresh laundry will soon start to smell of smoke. My mom used to smoke in the house all day long, from the minute she got up right until she went to bed. People I went to school with used to ask if I smoked(I don't, and never plan to) because they could smell it on my clothes.

And as a reformed heavy smoker I can tell you as a an absolute fact that smokers themselves just don't realise how much the smell pervades almost everything they come into contact with. Obviously as a smoker you appreciate that there is a smell but it is only after you quit (and your sense of smell and taste return) that you come to realise just how much smoking makes things stink.

 MarsNZ wrote:
I find a lot of these anecdotes pretty far fetched tbh. It's like these people take their models out with them to hotbox their car or something. Absurd.

Someone hasn't just repainted the house of a lady who's been a smoker for 50 years...

The owner of the FLGS died a few years back and his son's been selling off his stuff ever since. From the smallest goblin to the largest Chicken Dragon or source book, everything reeks of cigarettes. Doesn't matter that its sat in a storage unit or the son's house for years, the smell's still there.

I'm probably odd that I don't mind if my minus smell like hand-rolled cigs when they turn up, but I hate it if they smell like commercial brand. I don't smoke, but I can tell the difference, oddly. Think it comes from spending years in the Irish folk music scene.

Yes you really can tell. I've left boxes airing overnight on the porch before.

Some people may also have quit smoking and not want a reminder when they buy minis.
Personally I find it more annoying when my minis turn up reeking of air freshener.

 Genoside07 wrote:
The ironic thing about this.. it got me thinking about some pre painted WoTC D&D and Star Wars miniatures I got years back from online dealers; They had a white coat that would wipe off
and would show up again months later but not as bad. I asked a paint skilled buddy of mine about it and he thought it was just a bad clear coat sealing the miniature.
But reading this.. I went and dug out one of the "frosted" miniature and took a q tip to it... guess what.. yep.. dirty brown wiped off..
Never put it together... just thought out of the thousand of pre painted figures I had .. a few would have a bad clear coat.. Nope.. I am guessing smokers soot now..

Nah, that just happened to some of their sets. I dont smoke and some of my tree dudes looked like they had dandruff after I pulled them out to categorize them last year. I think its an issue with the plastic from some of the later sets.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Some people may also have quit smoking and not want a reminder when they buy minis.
Personally I find it more annoying when my minis turn up reeking of air freshener.

The worst is a smoker who thinks they're being considerate by putting air fresheners everywhere. I have a mate who can't smell because of smoking but knows it bothers other people so uses heaps of air fresheners everywhere and occasionally burns incense to hide the smell....

...it doesn't hide anything, it just means there's the horrible smell of cigis AND a horrible chemical smell of the air fresheners

 MarsNZ wrote:
I find a lot of these anecdotes pretty far fetched tbh. It's like these people take their models out with them to hotbox their car or something. Absurd.

Just because you've never spent much time around anyone who's smoked doesn't make the stories of those who have 'absurd.' I've known a couple of regular smokers in the hobby, and in one case, his detached garage was his workshop/mancave/hobby space, and when he was out there, he'd smoke constantly, so yeah, his cases and the models themselves had that very distinct old-cigarette-smoke odor clinging to them very strongly.

And some people are more tolerant of that, and some less. I don't usually mind, but to some people, it's a stench of utter ass, so why should they have to put up with it? Back in college, I bought a used Sega Dreamcast off of ebay, and when I opened up the box, holy gak, I thought the guy had stuffed the thing with old cigarette butts, and the console casing was discolored. Yuck.

I got a package of wraiths from eBay that smelt oddly of pipe tobacco and fish.

The seller said his home was smoke and fish free so I don't know what the feth happened there.

It spent a lot of times at customs in Edinburgh?

...and we did have a non-smoking clause in the rent. I reminded him constantly. I had to repaint the whole place and scrub the vintage wallpaper something fierce to satisfy the landlord.

One time, his dealer came knocking (he smoked pot as well), expecting to sell him his daily stash. He'd been gone for a day to visit his mum. "Look, I drove all the way here, can you just pay me and give it to him?" Now I don't mind pot, you do what you want, but I'm not about to pay for your stuff too.

Yeah if I see "smoke free home" when I'm buying its a huge plus. I used to work around chronic smokers a lot and really don't like the smell and discoloration it causes. Was a big problem when I used to buy used instruments.

Any smoker who seriously believes that "it's not that noticeable" must've had their nose burn out years ago. It is probably the most noticeable thing other than pot for something to smell like, and at least pot just kind of stinks, compared to cigarretes' making it smell like burnt paint. I'm just glad most places make people smoke outside now so I don't have to deal with it much anymore. At least outside it dissapates and you can stand upwind.

I definitely couldn't handle a roommate smoking inside, I dont know how any non smoker could stand that, just from rental agreement s alone.

I know I wouldn't want to buy any light cored models for their paintjob from a smoker's home. That stuff will discolor the paint if exposed long enough

... what is it with everyone saying it smells like burnt paint, though?

How many of you witnessed the burning of a paint factory?

^Very weak attempt at morning humour.

My dad used to smoke in his truck and drink coffee all the time on the way to work (still does, but that old truck is history now) and oh boy, will that smell invade everything it can. It still stunk of spilled coffee and cigarettes the day we got rid of it. That smell will absolute leech into any and everything it can.

Side note, does anyone know if e-cigarettes or vaporizers will leech into items? My buddy uses one and while it's not as harsh as cigarettes, the smell is still rather unpleasant and irritates my sinuses like nothing else.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
... what is it with everyone saying it smells like burnt paint, though?

How many of you witnessed the burning of a paint factory?

^Very weak attempt at morning humour.

"Humour" Ah, the olde English how's the "colour" of the sky?

Canada still takes its British heritage semi-seriously.

Oddly enough, I have smelt burning paint. It may not be exactly the same, but its close enough for me

I worked at a major electronics retailer in the US for many years. I can absolutely attest to the fact that heavy smoking leaves a yellow, greasy film on everything. We would open computers, telephones, etc to see what was wrong and would encounter a greasy, yellow nightmare.

The only thing worse than opening a heavy smoker's computer was opening a heavy smoker's computer who ALSO owned cats. I almost threw up one day when I had to scoop out masses of greasy, yellow filmed over cat hair from a computer's guts.

Diligent cleaning can keep most of the film from accumulating, but you'll never get it out of the nooks and crannies.

And for full disclosure, I used to be a smoker. I didn't realize how gross and pervasive the smell could be until one day when I opened a box of clothing I'd had in storage. It reeked. I ended up pitching it all.

I found some of my dad's old pipes in a box. I probably should have thrown them out, but I have quite fond memories of my dad and his pipe. So I double bagged them in ziploc bags and threw them in a box with some other memorabilia. A few months later I opened the box to look for something, and the whole thing stank of tobacco, and everything inside was infused with it. I thought those bags were airtight, but apparently they're not tight enough to contain the vapors from smoking.

On the subject of smoking outside, even that is quite irritating. Sometimes I have friends over, and it seems like every 5 mins they're having to run in and out to have a cigarette, and annoy my neighbors. You can't get through a movie or a game without constant intermissions. Sometimes, I just tell people that it's okay to smoke inside, and I just open a window, because I can't be bothered with all the upheaval every few mins.

Smoke can make em smell funny, can yellow paints if exposed long enough. Ive had models come in caked in paint and found what looked like ash in them after scrubbing them off. Models and boxes stink of marijuana Im moving into an apartment with a smoker soon, all my minis will be stored in air tight containers covered with sheets just to be safe.

The Internet can be hilarious at times:

*Wanna watch any variety of porn or have sex with anyone or anything you want? No problem.
*Wanna do drugs? No problem.
*Wanna spew hate speech about anyone or anything? No problem.

*Smoke a cigarette? What a disgusting habit! Smoking is dumb!
*Eat something unhealthy? I'm not paying for your unhealthy lifestyle, fatty! Let's take your kids away!
*Mention a religious belief? OMGWTF why do you hate gay people/lrn2science!!!

As a smoker, i hate the idea of smoking inside. The build up of tar and associated yellow-brown slime in a house is just disgusting. Save that stuff for my lungs, at least i don't have to look at those.

 the_Armyman wrote:
*Smoke a cigarette? What a disgusting habit! Smoking is dumb!

You want to die of cancer, be my guest buddy, but don't expect others to share your enthusiasm.

Interesting topic which I initially thought was supposed to be a joke.

I just cannot, and have never been able to understand why people smoke. They smell completely wretched afterwards. I used to know some very heavy smokers who had body odour because they'd apparently lost their sense of smell. We all know the health risks involved. So why do people still start doing it?

To each their own and all that, but it's a genuinely offensive habit to some people. Who doesn't hate it when someone comes in from their break and there's a foul stench of smoke? But they get mad when people complain about it, as if it's supposed to be socially acceptable to stink because it's "their choice" (i.e. "their compulsive addiction") to smoke.

 the_Armyman wrote:
The Internet can be hilarious at times:

*Wanna watch any variety of porn or have sex with anyone or anything you want? No problem.
*Wanna do drugs? No problem.
*Wanna spew hate speech about anyone or anything? No problem.

*Smoke a cigarette? What a disgusting habit! Smoking is dumb!

Well the internet is mostly anonymous... if someone was watching porn, doing drugs or spewing hate speech while walking down a city street then yeah, they'd get taken to task on it.

As it is, that's not a common occurrence.... it is unfortunately a common occurrence that I have to walk down the street inhaling someone's disgusting 2nd hand smoke. I understand smoking is addictive and all that, but it strikes me as very selfish all the same.

It's interesting to note, however, that much of today's reactions to smoke ("stinky," "reeks," etc.) are actually learned responses where you've taught yourself to dislike the smoke, and in some cases, some can't even tell the difference between cigarette or pipe smoke because of that trained dislike. 50 years ago many of you would have been equally trained to simply ignore/accept the smell, or even enjoy certain kinds.

I dislike cigarette smoke, whether stale or fresh, dislike stale cigar smoke, but like stale pipe smoke and fresh cigar and pipe smoke. To me, they all smell differently.

 BrookM wrote:

 the_Armyman wrote:
*Smoke a cigarette? What a disgusting habit! Smoking is dumb!

You want to die of cancer, be my guest buddy, but don't expect others to share your enthusiasm.

You live a pure lifestyle? Nothing you do is dangerous? Do you drink? Always wear a seatbelt or helmet? What kind of physical shape are you in? What's your occupation? Always wear a respirator when you're spraying? Unprotected sex ever in your life? Am I seriously having this discussion with someone who lives in the Netherlands where you can by a joint in a café, then head down the street a few blocks and have sex with a prostitute?

For the record, I don't smoke. In fact, I don't care for the smell, either. But I do find a great deal of hypocrisy in people who would tell you that somehow their choices are better than yours.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
I dislike cigarette smoke, whether stale or fresh, dislike stale cigar smoke, but like stale pipe smoke and fresh cigar and pipe smoke. To me, they all smell differently.

There is a definite difference. My completely unresearched opinion is that there's probably a lot less processing and chemical additives in the latter two than what goes into cigarettes. My paternal grandfather was a pipe smoker, and I remember that odor being mildly pleasant, while my maternal grandmother was a cigarette smoker, and I found the after odor of those acrid and unpleasant.

 the_Armyman wrote:

 BrookM wrote:

 the_Armyman wrote:
*Smoke a cigarette? What a disgusting habit! Smoking is dumb!

You want to die of cancer, be my guest buddy, but don't expect others to share your enthusiasm.

You live a pure lifestyle? Nothing you do is dangerous? Do you drink? Always wear a seatbelt or helmet? What kind of physical shape are you in? What's your occupation? Always wear a respirator when you're spraying? Unprotected sex ever in your life? Am I seriously having this discussion with someone who lives in the Netherlands where you can by a joint in a café, then head down the street a few blocks and have sex with a prostitute?

For the record, I don't smoke. In fact, I don't care for the smell, either. But I do find a great deal of hypocrisy in people who would tell you that somehow their choices are better than yours.

Only because you're deliberately trolling, or really just that ignorant.

Which one is it?

The point you may or may not be deliberately ignoring is that what makes smoking different is the fact that, as has been abundantly shown in this thread, If I sit across the table from you and chow down on a triple stack bacon heart attack burger, you're not ingesting a dose of contact grease. If I don't go to the gym, my proximity doesn't retroactively undue your own workout. But if I light up a cigarette, you're sitting in the same cloud of smoke that I am. The smoke, the smell, and everything that goes with it isn't polite enough to stick to just the person doing the smoking.

 Bookwrack wrote:

Only because you're deliberately trolling, or really just that ignorant.

Which one is it?

The point you may or may not be deliberately ignoring is that what makes smoking different is the fact that, as has been abundantly shown in this thread, If I sit across the table from you and chow down on a triple stack bacon heart attack burger, you're not ingesting a dose of contact grease. If I don't go to the gym, my proximity doesn't retroactively undue your own workout. But if I light up a cigarette, you're sitting in the same cloud of smoke that I am. The smoke, the smell, and everything that goes with it isn't polite enough to stick to just the person doing the smoking.

In what hypothetical establishment in America are you eating this cheeseburger where a person is legally allowed to smoke a cigarette sitting right next to you? People smoke outside or inside their own homes. No one blows smoke in another person's face, and the relative inconvenience of a person passing by or a gust of wind in your general direcrion is hardly a health risk and no less "polite" than an individual who doesn't brush their teeth or bathe frequently.

So, yeah, I'm totally trolling and being willfuly ignorant, right?