i am very sensitive to the smell of second hand smoke. the smell makes my whole chest tight and irritates me. its even worse when i’m downwind of a smoker.
i have a friend, who when she was single and her brothers were still at home, used to have a room off the house for smoking. she was/is close to her brothers so she would talk to them in that room. in the winter, she had to wear a coat. and every once in a while i would have to say to her, i think its time for you to dry clean your coat because it reeks/stinks/etc. the smell didnt bother her and it still doesnt. but she would dry clean it.
even now, when i have pts or visitors one of the first things i notice is the smell of cig smoke. i think b/c i hate it so much i recognize it that quickly.