Of course you don’t. It’s almost certain that you don’t allow vaping either. I don’t and I’m pretty sure that the hosts who do can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It would be pretty crazy to allow smoking – you’d never get rid of the smell and it would linger for a long time in your soft furnishings, carpets and curtains.

But…

To be honest, I’m getting just a little bit tired of all this animosity towards smokers. “It’s a filthy habit” “The smell makes me feel ill” “I won’t allow anyone to smoke anywhere on my property” “Smokers are appalling”. Etc. etc. etc.

Yes, yes, I agree.

But do we have to be so unfeeling about it? In these days of political correctness and tolerance, do we really have to give people who smoke such a hard time?

After all, there are plenty of articles on this site about Airbnb (the listing service I prefer to use) and how as hosts, we have to be tolerant of everyone. We even say in our listings that we accept all guests ‘regardless of colour, disabuility, religion, lifestyle choices, sexual orientation, gender preferences etc.’

UNLESS THEY SMOKE, OF COURSE.

In the event that those transgender people, Muslims, Chinese people or whatever else they are happen to smoke or vape, we forget about being tolerant and understanding to our fellow-man and become dictators.

We have great tolerance these days towards addiction. If we know that someone is addicted to hard drugs, sex, alcohol, gambling, over-eating, whatever it may be then we sympathise with their plight. We approve of the medical and psychiatric professions getting help for them and we are tolerant when they are seeking to cure their addictions.

We nod sagely when they go into rehab, we are fine with the mainliners being prescribed methadone. But with smoking, for some reason I can’t fathom, we are totally intolerant.

Right. I’ll just do the disclaimer bit now. Until June 2017 I was a smoker. I haven’t had a cigarette since that time. (I still dream about having a cigarette). So I’m a former smoker. I have never vaped. I’m not even sure what it is, except knowing that people look damn silly doing it.

But I have the feeling that we are unreasonably intolerant to the smoker.

We’re so conscious these days about what are referred to as mental health issues. Even prisons these days are taking their inmates’ mental health into account.

True, it seems sometimes that no one takes responsibility for their own actions these days – nothing is our fault. Unless we smoke, of course. If we’re taking cocaine, or crystal meth, or addicted to porn, or slimming, we are more to be pitied than to be censured. But light up a Marlboro and we are the devil incarnate.

As a host, I don’t want guests smoking in my apartments. Not many people do. But remember, not ,many smokers would actually dream of smoking indoors.

You read above about how I stopped smoking in 2017 – and I imagine that the last time I smoked indoors was in the nineties sometime.

People just don’t do it.

Show your guests where they can smoke. It’s not beyond your capabilities to provide an old flowerpot filled with sand as an ashtray for them. And yes, I’ve heard of hosts who insist that their guests can only smoke in one spot, a balcony or patio for example, they don’t provide any sort of ashtray and then complain that the guest left a few cigarette butts out there. Were they supposed to eat them or what?

Look, I know that you don’t want addicts staying on your property. I get that. But there are lots of ways to be addicted. You might not be able to function properly until you’ve had your morning dose of caffeine. You might be a hoarder who just can’t throw anything away. You might be terribly overweight because you just can’t resist fattening foods.

Addicts come in all shapes and sizes – literally. Be kind.

DEALING WITH GUESTS WHO SMOKE

ARTICLE BY:

Jackie

Jackie

JJ is originally from the UK and has lived in South Florida since 1994. She is the founder and editor of JAQUO Magazine. You can connect with her using the social media icons below.

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