Waiting to Exhale: Dating Etiquette for Smokers

We all know that smoking is a bad habit – but it can also get in the way of your love life. If you’re dating, smoking is probably going to be an issue, at least for some people. And if you’re trying to find Mr or Mrs Right, that could become a problem.

Waiting to Exhale: Dating Etiquette for Smokers
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If you smoke, and lots of people you know smoke, you may not think that it is going to be a big deal when you start dating. But you are likely to be disappointed.

According to a poll run by Match.com, 58 percent of daters said they would never consider dating a smoker. That is a big percentage, especially when you compare it to the 22 percent who gave the same number the last time the same poll was taken in 2004, suggesting that people are becoming even more reluctant to date smokers.

This means finding a suitable partner could pose a bigger challenge than you might have thought.

So what choices do you have?

Kick the Habit

The first, and probably the best, option is to quit smoking. You may even have been trying for a while. Quitting will allow you to call yourself a non-smoker, helping to make yourself potentially more attractive to other non-smokers on the dating scene.

However, if you have ever tried and failed to quit before, you may already know just how difficult it can be, and you may not want to go cold turkey. This can pose a big problem for you if you want to meet someone new who may be against smoking, meaning another option may be better.

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Wait Until Later

Telling people you are a non-smoker when you are in fact a smoker is not a great idea. Of course, many people do just that, and sometimes it can turn out well. Some people may simply refuse to meet up on a date with a smoker – but once they have met you, perhaps they might change their mind.

It’s a risk that you may be willing to take, but it could bring up all kinds of issues surrounding honesty if your date finds up on your third date that you are in fact a smoker.

Give Vaping a Try

Another option you could consider is to take up vaping. While smoking is often a big issue for non-smoking daters, vaping might be less of a concern. For a start, it doesn’t smell bad like smoking. And people also won’t have to worry about the proven dangers of the passive smoking of cigarettes.

Vaping Etiquette Tips

If you do decide that vaping is the answer, you should still follow some good etiquette rules. Vaping is becoming increasingly common, but not everyone is familiar with it. If you and your friends vape, you may assume that everyone is comfortable with it. But when you go on a date, you may be surprised to find out that many people are still unfamiliar with the whole concept.

So what are good etiquette tips?

The first and most important thing is to make sure you always ask permission. Just like you would before smoking, ask whether they mind if you take out your vaporiser. They may prefer if you didn’t, or they may simply not know enough about it. They might want to find out more about what it is before you start using it, so it’s only polite to ask.

It also makes sense to pick your flavour with care. If you prefer particularly strong flavours, be aware that your date may not like these. Maybe choose a weaker flavour until you know more about how they feel about your vaping. Brands like Gourmet eLiquid have a huge range to choose from, so there are many options.

Also, try to avoid leaving your date alone to go and vape if you are on a date somewhere where vaping is not permitted. No one wants to be left alone on a date, so try to wait until you are outside.

Follow Good Etiquette on Your Date

If you are a smoker and you are not proving successful on the dating scene, perhaps vaping could provide a solution. But even if you want to try it out, make sure that you follow some basic vaping etiquette tips on your date.

John Boughey runs a dating agency for busy professionals. He understands the challenges of matching compatible couples, and as an ex-smoker himself, doesn’t want that addiction to be a negative for an otherwise perfectly suited couple.

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