Reply #10: Tobacco smoke rarely bothers me. I have, however, seen that behavior often.

[TahitiNut]

I've been with people who never noticed the smoker until they turn (for reasons other than smelling smoke) and SEE the person smoking ... and, all of a sudden, behave as though they're being fumigated. The smoke didn't change. Hell, I noticed long before they did. I've been with non-smokers who've deliberately walked closer to a smoker ... just to complain. There seems to be a HUGE psychosomatic component. That's not to say that the psychosomatic aspects aren't as real and worth regard ... but I've never seen one of these people, some of whom have been friends, act in some way to mitigate their own discomfort. I've never known a single person (other than a paramedic) who would wear a mask ... even if they suffer from allergies (none of which are to tobacco smoke which contains no allergens) or suffer from asthma. Rarely have I known an asthma sufferer who took biofeedback/relaxation training to mitigate an asthma attack. (I guess the pharma industry doesn't get a cut on such training.) Yet we know that such training can significantly ameliorate the severity of an asthma attack.

I've rarely known a smoker who'd deliberately discomfort a non-smoker. Most smokers seem to feel like apologetic lepers - buying into the 'culture.' And a few don't.

As far as I can see, smokers are a handy target for folks to give vent to repressed hostility. Lord knows there's enough to get hostile about in today's "America." That's sad.