“Ugh, same. Smoking in public and smoking around children seemed to be much more normalized then. I never smoked but always smelled like it.
I remember my great-grandma’s house being cloudy because she chain-smoked inside regardless of who was around. My dad was also a chain smoker. He didn’t smoke inside the house (only because my mom refused to allow it) but always smoked in the car.
I also remember waiting a long time for non-smoking seats at restaurants. In high school, I worked in a restaurant that had a smoking section, and I avoided working in it whenever possible, but even when I worked on the opposite side, I always came home smelling like smoke. My mom and her husband constantly accused me of smoking because I always smelled like cigarettes. In college, going to bars, I came home absolutely reeking of smoke. It permeated my hair, skin, and clothes. I often had to wash my hair and clothes twice to get the smell out.
I definitely do not miss constantly being around and smelling like other people’s cigarettes.”
