ok, so.. I figured I didn't need to set conditions on my book requests, because I'm just not all that picky, and like a lot of people, when it comes down to it, if I can read it I'm happy..

turns out I hadn't a clue what "a smoking environment" meant. Holy crap! wow.. I had no idea..

my question is this.. how would I word a condition to rule out those books in the future? I don't want to say no books from smokers, period, because generally I can't tell the difference. then again, I can't say no books which have been in rooms where smoke detectors have been rendered inoperable to cut the noise..

does that make any sense? maybe I'm just mini-venting.. at myself.. for not knowing better..

yeah, probably

I have received the same sort of books - they reeked so bad they stunk up my house!  I can't imagine what people do to make them stink so badly....

As for conditions - Something like this, perhaps???

Please, no books from heavy smokers.

Second-hand books are ok as long as they don't smell like smoke to you, and you are a non-smoker. I buy many second-hand books from sales and used books stores and haven't had a problem.

Thanks for your understanding! :)

My conditions are similar and I have only been turned down twice.  Good luck!

I have only recently added this condition because even after airing out some of the books for days they still reek too much for me to be able to read the book.   I have it worded as "I do not want books that smell STRONGLY of smoke.  Thanks for checking before sending the book to me. =)".  I think that is pretty easy to understand.  So far, I have not had too many problems with people turning down my requests.

Thanks :) If that works for you, I'll use it...

I was thinking , y'know how you can walk into someone's house and right away know that there's a smoker living there, or that they have cats, or whatever, but they can never smell it themselves...? I made pizza for 5 years, and I could never understand how people guessed, fairly easily, what I did.. pepperoni is pretty recognizable, heh, but I never realized I carried the smell around with me..

so I have my concerns... lol. we'll see :)

I don't add anything at all about the way it smells, because smokers can NOT smell smoke on books. Trust me. I am an ex-smoker. I've worded mine: No books that currently reside in a 'smokes in the house' household.

Here's mine:

Please, no overtly smokey smelling books. I understand you might not know the past history of the book, and I will accept books you purchased from a UBS, or books that may have previously been in the home of a smoker, just not ones coming directly from a smoking home.  THANKS! :)

I do still get PM's making sure it's okay to send a book if the sender got the book second hand, but I don't think I've been turned down due to this condition more that one or 2 times.

HTH!

Right, I've always heard that smokers can't smell smoke, so asking that books do not smell like smoke may not be helpful. 

Mine is worded, "Please do not send books that have been recently exposed to smoke."  I can handle a thrift store book that might have a hint of smokey smell. 

I've not had any requests turned down (yet).

Russa, in 100+ swaps I've only received one or two heavily smoky books and I do not have a condition.  The super smoky books (too gross to read) I stuck into plastic bags with baking powder and put away for a couple of months.  The smoky smell mostly went away and they were readable.  So, you might consider just chalking this one up to "one of those things" and not adding a condition unless you begin getting more heavily smoky books.

I had a situation recently where the person said that she wouldn't accept books from people who smoked indoors.  That may help.  The problem is that even if the person smokes irregularly, but they smoke inside, it may still really smell depending on the size of the house.  So, if I were you, I'd make your condition "no indoor smokers."

I've had a couple of problems with heavy smoke and heavy perfume but not enough to worry about posting a "limit".  If I get one that tickles my nose I put it in a zip lock with a fish aquarium filter (charcoal).  It will absorb/kill almost any smell in less than 24hrs.  I came across this one day when I was looking for something to kill the lingering smell in my car from spilling milk on the rug (talk about nasty after sitting in the hot car for a day) but I found a post on the internet about the charcoal and put a fish filter in my back window (where the air could circulate) and "poof" it was gone in about a day.

Wow, the charcoal filter tip is a good one.  Thanks!

great answers, all of you! thanks!

oh, i missed that one, the charcoal filter.. great idea :D gonna go try that now

Be careful about blaming the senders for smoky books - sometimes it's actually the mailman's fault...the books I get ALWAYS reek of smoke - but so does the rest of my mail. My mailman chain smokes in his truck. I don't think they are allowed to in the official USPS mail vehicles, but when they use their own vehicles there is no rule against it. I deliberately mail out all my packages directly from the post office to bypass him.

I receievd a book yesteray reeking of smoke. Out of 59 books I've requested three have been awful smelling. So bad I had to go wash my hands after handling the books. Gross. If I get many of theose kind I will have to ask for non smoker books. The issue with putting a condition is people who get used books don't not know where they come from. I think some have handled that issue by mentoning if you are a non smoker and the book doesn't smell it's okay to send it. For me three out of 59 hasn't been too bad, I have two in a freezer bag with a bar of soap now. PEW!

Here is what I do, I dont smoke,but hubby and his sister do. (and for the life of me CANNOT talk them into going outside and smoking HA!)  Anyway, because I do live with the smoke, I can't smell it at home.  So I take my books to work, if I can smell the smoke on them, I warn the requestor, if I cant, then I send them on.  And yes I can tell the difference, quite often when I go to my moms house, and lean over my own clothes, OH MY the STINK!!

Dang......all this talk about smoking is making me want a ciggie and I quit several years ago!  :D  I can taste it now, along with my coffee and a good book.........but clearly not a date since I would have nasty, nasty breath!!

No books that currently reside in a 'smokes in the house' household.  To me, this is perfect - short, simple and very clear.  I did turn down a hard to find book once because of an unclear smoking condition; had I seen a condition worded like this, I would have sent it to the requestor but at the time I just wasn't sure.

PS - in two years of trading (and for some of that time I traded on two sites), I've only received one smoky book.  Of course, I about fell over when I got it but I aired it out and all was well enough for me.  I have worse luck with water damage and unidentifiable stains!

In almost two years here i have gotten one book that reeked of smole....it spent a couple weeks on my back porch and was fine then.  I can't stand being around people who reek, but most books are ok.....also can't stand bars, because of the smoke.

I have a question for you all, please forgive me if I am high-jacking the thread, but I feel my question is related to the topic of discussion.

I don't smoke, but I do burn incense and scented candles in my home frequently. If you have "no smoking" as one of your conditions, how do you feel about this? I am assuming that folks use this condition because they have a health related concern or issue and so I tend to say "I'm sorry, but I burn lots of incense in my home and so I feel my books do not meet your no smoke condition". I have never gotten an angry email about this but I am wondering how those who do not like, or cannot tolerate, smoke scented books feel about the same books being exposed to incense? Is that something that should be considered part of the no smoke scent condition?

uh oh... i never thought about that. i burn incense... personally it is the smell of tobacco itself that i object to. wouldn't bother me to get incense smelling books. but i dunno what the answer to that question would be...

I had never thought about incense in regards to the " no smoking" condition but I can see where that might be an issue. I think it depends on the individual and their reasons for the "no smoking" condition.  I personally have issues with books that reek of cigarette smoke because the tobacco smell is what makes me want to gag. 

However, I have no problem with incense or most other scents (I actually like incense) because I think most of it smells good to me. I would not mind getting a book that smells of incense at all.

Perhaps, I should clarify that in the book condition request or just remove the "no smoking "condition altogether and take my chances? I have only gotten a few books that actually reeked of smoke (and boy were they doozies) and many that were perfectly fine.  hmm.....

I have a no smoking condition and incense would not bother me either.  It's the nasty, stanky tobacco smell that sends me running for the hills.

I don't have any conditions, and smoky books really bother me - BUT, I too have only received a few in the past year, so I'm ok with that - BUT I have to say the one that bothered me the most was a children's book that was smokey - that's just toooooooo yuck for words :(  I can live with reading a book that might still have a smoke smell, but no way should my daughter!

I don't think that you can assume that a person who has a problem with smoke would have a problem with incense or other scents.  Some absolutely would and others would not, depending on allergies, sensitivities, and just plain old preferences.  I think in this case it is up to the requestor to set a very clear condition, because I think most people don't read "smoky" as including incense or candles.  (I know it would not have occurred to me.)