Smoking is unhealthy for everyone, even for those who aren't bothered by it. Scents are health-problematic for a fairly small number of people--and for many of them, it's only some scents, or high amounts of scents, that cause problems. (I have friends with petroleum allergies; they can deal with any level of essential oils, but not most commercial perfumes.)
I have no easy answers for how to balance your needs with those who need not to be exposed to any scents, just some general soothing comments about how most scent-sensitive people are able to cope with others who are trying to manage their own comfort through scent, rather than trying to walk through a cloud of it. (Not all. But this is an issue where numbers matter--if it's a case of "you or Person X cannot comfortably attend the event," you can probably negotiate somehow. You just need to be able to identify Person X.)
(I'm using "comfortable" in the broad sense of "able to attend and enjoy at all.")
When it comes to smoking... Persons A, B and C are smokers and won't be comfortable if they can't smoke. You can't be healthy or comfortable if they can smoke. Nobody else in the group can be healthy if they can smoke, regardless of comfort levels. So for that, while you might have the most extreme reaction, it's not a you-vs-them issue.
"Most people don't notice my perfume" is relevant, mostly because it stands a good chance of being true, whereas "most people don't notice the cigarette smoke in my clothes" is often false--what it really means is "most people aren't bothered enough to complain about it."
What needs to happen: People hosting "scent-free" events need to be more conscientious about their language. They need to specify if it's "no clothes washed in scented detergents" or "no scented oils etc" or "just don't show up doused in Chanel No. Whatever." (And more of them should probably be labeled "scent-reduced: be mindful of your scents and try to minimize their impact on the people around you.") I'd say they need to take a stand on smoking, but I live in California; there's no tobacco smoking in most places anyway.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2015-08-07 08:54 pm (UTC)I have no easy answers for how to balance your needs with those who need not to be exposed to any scents, just some general soothing comments about how most scent-sensitive people are able to cope with others who are trying to manage their own comfort through scent, rather than trying to walk through a cloud of it. (Not all. But this is an issue where numbers matter--if it's a case of "you or Person X cannot comfortably attend the event," you can probably negotiate somehow. You just need to be able to identify Person X.)
(I'm using "comfortable" in the broad sense of "able to attend and enjoy at all.")
When it comes to smoking... Persons A, B and C are smokers and won't be comfortable if they can't smoke. You can't be healthy or comfortable if they can smoke. Nobody else in the group can be healthy if they can smoke, regardless of comfort levels. So for that, while you might have the most extreme reaction, it's not a you-vs-them issue.
"Most people don't notice my perfume" is relevant, mostly because it stands a good chance of being true, whereas "most people don't notice the cigarette smoke in my clothes" is often false--what it really means is "most people aren't bothered enough to complain about it."
What needs to happen: People hosting "scent-free" events need to be more conscientious about their language. They need to specify if it's "no clothes washed in scented detergents" or "no scented oils etc" or "just don't show up doused in Chanel No. Whatever." (And more of them should probably be labeled "scent-reduced: be mindful of your scents and try to minimize their impact on the people around you.") I'd say they need to take a stand on smoking, but I live in California; there's no tobacco smoking in most places anyway.