Smoke gets in your eyes...

[zianuray]

So I can't even get library books anymore.  Time before last I was on a waitlist, got notice, and went to pick the book up as usual...got it home and opened it...and the last several people to have checked it out seem to have been smokers.  Even before I noticed the smell, my eyes started burning and watering.  Yeah, sure, wrap it in paper and baking soda in a sealed bag for a week or so...that's not the point.  I don't feel I should have to decontaminate books in order to read them.  The next time (most recent and last, so far, in the last 3 years) I had a book on order, I opened it AT the library before checking it out...and the same thing happened.  I looked up at the clerk with tears (from the irritation, not anger nor sorrow) running down my face and said "I'm sorry; I don't think I'll be coming back.  Send this to the next person and let's hope they're not allergic to tobacco smoke."

And no, just the fact of someone being a smoker does not mean that a book they've read is toxic to me -- I've lent several of my own to people who smoke.  They just keep their habit and my book apart.  It's when the book stays in a smoky environment for long enough to absorb the particulate and irritants that there is a problem.