Smoking Protocols on Dive Boats?

[CuriousMe]

Not to jump on the non-smoking bandwagon....but, as a non-smoker....when I'm getting onto a dive boat, I don't think it's ever occurred to me that the stern is where someone who smokes would go and smoke. It's not quite the same as sitting in an obviously declared smoking section in a restaurant and not expecting smoke. I consider how much space I'll have for my buddy and my gear, if the space is in the sun and if I want to be that day, if I have my camera with me....how close the bench is to the table, etc.....not whether I'll be in someone's way who wants to smoke on a dive boat.

I've been on just a few boats with smokers....many of them are not as considerate as you explain yourself to be. Just two weeks ago, I was sitting midship, I had just strapped into my gear and was waiting to get in the water (since I was midship, I was waiting for those further astern to hop in first)....a rider on the boat (spouse of one of the divers who was just forward of me) lit up and was puffing away. For me, second hand smoke is not a PC issue...it's a health issue....I'm very allergic to cigarette smoke (going to a smoky bar could and has made me sick for over a week)....I certainly didn't want a lungful before diving. I politely asked her to step to the other side of the boat, since I was sitting in my gear....I couldn't really move to avoid her...she rolled her eyes, and made a smart remark to her buddy and then finally moved.

Just to show the flipside of being picked on for smoking....I'm tired of being told by smokers that I'm just being "PC", that I'm just being overly sensitive, that I'm making a big deal out of nothing, that I couldn't possibly be bothered by their cigarette since we're outside....trust me, getting anyone to quit smoking isn't a crusade of mine....I'm not looking for the confrontation, I do whatever I can to avoid infringing on your right to smoke....mostly because I'm not looking to hear all of the above back at me. Y'all are grown people...you can do whatever you want to yourself....it's your choice.

If I come to you....it's because I can smell your smoke and it will make me sick (you not believing that it will make me sick, will actually not stop it from making me sick). If we're talking about rights....I think my right protect myself from being very ill supercedes your right to smoke.

Sorry.....just needed to get that off my chest

Peace,
Cathie

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Well the problem is obvious. It lies with the owner or operator of the boat. They should have a consistent smoking policy and enforce it evenly and fairly. This will allow both smokers and non-smokers to make an informed choice about where to spend their diving dollars. If you don't ask when booking then you get what you get. Unless there are specific laws covering the issue let capitalism decide.

You may have noticed that I have not indicated which camp I am in.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I agree with Mark ... the problem in this case lies with the boat operator for not making and enforcing a consistent policy ... not with the passenger for making a fuss. The rules should be clearly stipulated, and evenly enforced. If smoking is allowed on the vessel, all passengers should be informed of such and the smoking area should be reserved for smokers.

The other side of the coin ... I don't like going on dive boats that allow smoking. There's a popular charter operation in Nanaimo (B.C.) that I now avoid because the crew smokes. There's really not any place to go on a boat to get away from cigarette smoke. Despite your best intentions to be considerate, non-smokers can smell it and many do react to it. I'm usually a pretty open-minded sort ... but when it comes to diving, I really don't have the margin for cigarette smoke. Whenever possible, I just elect not to go on boats that allow smoking during the charter.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cdiver2]

Its a queston of give and take unfortunately there are people with agendas on both sides. I smoke and have been told by many boat capt's to smoke at the stern ( for obvious reasons ) and this I always try to do. If I can-not get to the stern because non smokers are already there then I try to isolate myself somewhere else on the boat.
On a recent trip to Coz I ended up on a cattle boat and got pushed to the back of the boarding line by the young fit none smokers. With a crowd on the deck my wife and I ended up in the entrance way to a cabin below the main deck, I was told by a crew member "as people get there gear sorted out they will spread out, onto the bow etc"
This did not happen so I had to ask a couple of people to move while I got our gear set up, they did reluctantly. After this as the bow was empty my wife and I moved out there where I could have a smoke. Immediately others started coming up to the bow and I started to get the look, and sure enough a complaint about the smoke. I moved to the other side of the bow but thats as far as I was going to go, I had done everything possible to keep away from them they joined me deal with it.

On another occasion the next door neighbor who I had been taking to the grocery store every Saturday morning for about three months ( she did-not drive ) started to complain about me smoking, window open, hand with the cigaret in it out of the window , blowing the smoke out of the window. She got really nasty about it so I stoped the car and told her to get out, from now on go back to catching the bus. I later found out she was selling pot out of her home.
I have inadvertently lit a cigareat near a none smoker and when told have apologized and put it out or moved away. Tolerance is just about a thing of the past pity.
Even as a smoker I will be very happy when smoking is banned totally then the people with agendas will look for some other cause, I hope its drinking I can-not stand drunks or the smell of booz, I will join that cause.

 

[cdiver2]

well, I live in NYC... and our lovely major banned smoking in bars... ok, I can see how it sucks, and I don't agree with this even though I am not a smoker, but smoking on the boat is the most inconsiderable thing.. I am extremely sensitive to smoke on a boat as I get seasick right away when I smell the smoke. it's bad as it is we have to smell engine fumes, but add smokers on top of that and I can't dive as I get really dizzy.

Also, if you I dive, you should't be smoking in a first place, and certainly not right after or before you do a dive. but that's another story.

If you get sea sick then stay of boats, shore dive. I do not get sea sick untill I see someone start to puke so you could be just as considerate as the smokers you complain about and stay of the boat.

 

[Scubaroo]

If you get sea sick then stay of boats, shore dive. I do not get sea sick untill I see someone start to puke so you could be just as considerate as the smokers you complain about and stay of the boat.

I used to have a severe seasickness problem which I've overcome - but the smell of cigarette smoke will still make me puke on a boat. Smokers affect MY health.

 

[DivemasterSteve]

I used to have a severe seasickness problem which I've overcome - but the smell of cigarette smoke will still make me puke on a boat. Smokers affect MY health.

"if" the smell of smoke bothers you that much you need to make sure you pay your money to go on a NON-smoking boat. anytime i go on a boat, i make sure smoking is allowed before i pay my money.

steve

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Be careful about assuming that non-smokers have "an agenda". My ex-wife is quite allergic to cigarette smoke ... to the point where her sinuses get all clogged and her face gets puffy. We are quite open-minded about people's right to smoke, and would always assume it was our responsibility to avoid people who did rather than ask them to put it out.

Last year we were on a charter in Campbell River (B.C.) when a fellow diver pulled out a cigarette while she was talking to him. She immediately stopped the conversation and walked away. This fellow got all insulted, thinking she had "an agenda" (actually she was trying to avoid what eventually happened) ... so he proceeded to follow her around the boat, blowing his smoke in her direction. She got so stuffed up she couldn't dive. The fellow who made her that way enjoyed two nice dives that day ... and got all defensive when I told him he was an a$$hole for doing what he did.

PC has nothing to do with it for some people ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

"if" the smell of smoke bothers you that much you need to make sure you pay your money to go on a NON-smoking boat. anytime i go on a boat, i make sure smoking is allowed before i pay my money.

steve

I agree in principle ... but what do you do when you are diving in an area where the choice (one way or the other) is not available? There are many parts of the world where all charters allow smoking. There are some areas where smoking simply isn't allowed on anybody's charter. Suppose you were in a part of the world where you really wanted to dive, and you could not get on a "smoking" boat. Would you opt not to dive?

Just curious ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DivemasterSteve]

Suppose you were in a part of the world where you really wanted to dive, and you could not get on a "smoking" boat. Would you opt not to dive?

Just curious ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

yes sir, i would not go there. i wish i didnt smoke, my wife dont smoke and the smoke bothers her lungs because of a chemical fire she was in many years before i ever met her but i'm 50 years old, have smoked for 34 of those years and i am hooked to where i wont go anywhere like that.

i have tried to quit several times but havent made it yet. i have cut way down but cant seem to give it up totaly. at home i either smoke outside or in the 2nd bathroom with the exhaust fan going so it will take most of the smoke out. when out in public i always do my best to respect those that dont smoke and stay downwind of them but that dont always work when you have non-smokers at the back of a boat or walking down the street with people behind you but i do the best i can to not blow smoke at anyone.

steve