The Challenges Of Dating a Smoker

Last updated: January 3, 2024

You can’t always decide who you will fall in love with. In fact, it usually takes you by surprise. 

But when that person is a smoker, it can create challenges. You love them, but you also want them to quit. What should you do? 

Fortunately, this post can help. We explore some of the challenges of dating a smoker and some potential solutions. 

You Constantly Worry About Their Health (And Yours)

If you know anything about health, you’ll know that smoking is expressly bad for it. Public health officials don’t agree on much when it comes to lifestyle interventions, but they do admit that smoking is the cause of many health problems and even a shorter life. 

Worse still, you also worry about your own health. Being near a smoker exposes you to high levels of tobacco exposure, especially if they smoke around you.

This strain can harm the relationship and cause tension that wouldn’t be there otherwise. 

Your Lifestyles Are Incompatible

Another problem you might encounter is incompatible lifestyles. Smoking in public places means you often have to limit your outings or only go to places that permit you to smoke. 

Smoking also takes up a lot of time. You might not want to stand around in designated smoking areas for 30 minutes at a time while your partner might. 

You Feel The Financial Strain

Finances don’t mix in the early stages of dating a smoker, but they can worsen over time. As you get more involved, you soon see how expensive the smoking habit is. Thanks to high prices and taxes, a significant chunk of your monthly income could go towards supporting your partner’s bad habits. 

Depending on where you live, you might also have to pay higher medical costs, either in the form of insurance or out of pocket.

Long-term, you worry about the effects that it will have on your finances. 

You See The Difficulties Involved In Quitting

While alternatives, such as disposable vapes are available, most people struggle to quit smoking.

During the first few weeks and months, it can be an emotionally challenging time for you and your partner, putting a strain on your relationship if they decide to kick the habit. As such, even if they commit to giving up, it can still cause problems. 

Furthermore, you may need to deal with relapse disappointment. Everything could seem like it is going well when suddenly you find out that your partner is smoking again. 

You Don’t Like The Smell

Finally, the smell of smokers can be off-putting to non-smokers. It’s not just on their breath, but also found throughout their entire body. This can make physical intimacy and kissing challenging (to say the least!). 

Sharing a living space can also be a problem. The smell of smoke can get into all your possessions if you live together and they smoke in the house. It can even seep into the fabric of the building itself and linger, even if they later stop smoking. 

The solution is to encourage your partner to quit or find an alternative. Plenty are now available, so smoking regular cigarettes is no longer essential.