Smoking indoors is never an ideal choice and, often, it is preferable to do it outdoors. Making sure your smoke reaches the outside can already be difficult, and smoking indoors can become an impossible task if you try to do it secretly. Taking into account the possible consequences, it is rarely worth smoking indoors; however, there are many things you can do to minimize the risks. There are no guarantees that you will not be found out, but with a few tricks you can greatly increase your chances of going unnoticed. Control the smell, direct the smoke outward, and conceal evidence as best you can to minimize the risk of getting caught.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Be Discreet
Step 1. Consider the time you want to smoke
When you smoke indoors, the easiest way to reduce stress and risk is to choose a time when no one can see you. You can light up a cigarette when the other tenants are out or when they are sleeping. If those who live with you have a habit of entering your room without warning, it is especially important to choose a quiet time, during which you will not be disturbed.
Don't let other people breathe secondhand smoke if you care about their health
Step 2. Come up with a good excuse to go out and buy cigarettes
If you leave the house for no good reason, you can get caught. If you live with particularly suspicious people, they may decide to poke around in your affairs if they notice your seemingly unmotivated outings. The best way to avoid this problem is to buy cigarettes while doing other ordinary activities, such as work or school. This way, you won't arouse suspicion when you get home on time.
Step 3. Hide your cigarettes in a safe place
If you live with parents who do not respect your privacy, it is very important to hide cigarettes where they cannot find them. Take a look around your room and find a spot where no one would look for cigarettes. Be patient and spend as much time choosing your hiding place as necessary.
You should make sure that any intruders cannot find your stash, but don't hide it so well that it makes too much noise when you retrieve it. If you had to mess around to get a cigarette, you would attract people to your room
Step 4. Stay calm when dealing with other people
By keeping something hidden from those who live with you, you can suffer from stress, but it's important not to give yourself away. If you are naturally anxious, the stress you experience may make it clear to the viewer that you are hiding something. At worst, you may appear to be doing far more serious things than smoking indoors.
Part 2 of 4: Masking the Smell
Step 1. Open a window or air duct
Before starting to smoke, it is very important to make sure that the smoke has a way out. Otherwise, it would stay in the room and put your health at risk. Whichever room you choose, there should always be a window to open.
- A chimney hood is the best choice because it is specifically designed to expel smoke.
- It is not recommended to smoke in a room that cannot be ventilated.
Step 2. Place a wet towel against the door gap
To make sure that the smoke cannot spread to other parts of the house or building where you are smoking, place a towel (preferably wet) against the door. In this way, the fabric will block the unwanted way out of the smoke.
Wetting the towel offers added protection against smoking, but it may not be a good idea if you are afraid of getting caught after the fact. The wet area near the door may attract unwanted attention
Step 3. Turn on a fan or fan
To best prepare for smoking indoors, you need to make sure the room is well ventilated. By turning on a fan, the smoke will dissipate shortly after it forms. The best choice varies according to the type of room you are smoking in, but often a portable fan will suffice if you point it at an open window or ventilation duct.
In some bathrooms, special fans are installed that can filter the air, sucking up excess moisture and particles. If you have a similar appliance in your bathroom, turn it on and aim it at the smoke to get rid of the odor and residue
Step 4. Before you begin, spread another smell around your room
Even if your ultimate goal will be to get rid of the smoke smell altogether, as a temporary solution you can decide to mask it with another more powerful scent. You have many options available to achieve this end; the important thing is to choose the best one for your particular situation.
- The most common method of masking odors is to use an air freshener. These "room fragrances" diffuse a light and discreet fragrance, designed to cover up other odors in the air. They are cheap and easy to find. If you don't already have one, go to a nearby supermarket to buy it. Spray it all over the room, making sure you don't neglect the ceiling, corners, and other spots where smoke could stagnate.
- If you are in the bathroom, you can fill the sink with hot water and then pour some shampoo into it. The fragrances from the shampoo will quickly spread through the air, hiding the smell of smoke.
- Frankincense is another great choice, very effective at masking the unwanted smell of smoke. However, keep in mind that the use of incense can arouse suspicion and that some people find the smell as annoying as that of cigarettes.
Part 3 of 4: Smoking Discreetly
Step 1. Direct the smoke out of a window
The easiest way to smoke indoors is to find a window and vent the smoke directly outdoors; it will then have a way out and will not produce much unpleasant odor. Try leaning against a window and blowing smoke outdoors. Choose the most suitable position for the window, which will allow you to let the smoke out as soon as possible.
- If you have a portable fan, try keeping it near the window, pointing outward. When you need to blow smoke, direct it towards the fan from the back. The movement of the blades will push the smoke out into the open.
- If you try not to get caught while smoking at a window, pay attention to your surroundings. If someone sees you leaning over the windowsill, they may get suspicious. Be careful and always be alert.
Step 2. Minimize the risk of absorbing the smoke odor
Keep your hair away from the cigarette. If you have long hair, try tying it up; that way, they will smell less of smoke.
Also remove as many layers of clothing as you can. Everything you wear will absorb the smell of smoke, so it's a good idea not to wear too many clothes before lighting a cigarette
Step 3. Smoke
Lastly, enjoy your cigarette. Be careful though, anyone who enters the room will be able to see you smoking. The more time you spend with the cigarette in hand, the higher the chances of being caught, so try to make the experience short.
Prepare a safe place to throw your cigarette in advance, in case someone enters your room. If you are quick and fluid enough, you may be able to get rid of the incriminating evidence before the intruder realizes you were smoking
Step 4. Pay attention to the movements of your roommates while you smoke
Keep your ears open to hear noises coming from other rooms and the possible sound of an intruder's footsteps approaching your door. If not getting caught is your priority, staying alert and alert will give you a few seconds to prepare for someone's arrival; they may be enough to avoid getting caught.
Step 5. Spray an air freshener when done
Even if you've done this before smoking, re-scenting the room is never a mistake. This way, the deodorant will be the most recent smell in the room and those who enter will have a hard time noticing the stench of the smoke.
Part 4 of 4: Hiding the Evidence
Step 1. Wet the cigarette under cold water
To minimize the smoke produced by a cigarette, the best way to put it out is under water. Hold it in your hand and gently wet it under a tap. Make sure you have a firm grip; if too much ash falls down the drain, it could clog it.
Step 2. Clean your makeshift ashtray
Take the container where you dropped the cigarette ash, then scrub it with soap and water until it is completely clean. Often, you will find yourself using small plates or glasses.
If you were smoking outside a window, you probably dropped ash outdoors. In most cases this is a good solution, but be careful not to allow the ash to hit the wall of the building. If this happens, the black stripe that starts from your windowsill would be proof that you smoked and it would be very difficult to clean it unnoticed
Step 3. Discard the cigarette
The best way to do this is to flush it down the toilet. Before flushing, be sure to cover the cigarette with toilet paper; in this way, parts of it will be less likely to return to the surface.
If you don't want to take any chances and are worried that you might get caught throwing your cigarette, you might want to store the butt in an airtight bag. This way, when you get out you can throw the container into a public bin
Step 4. Wash your hands
Even after getting rid of the cigarette, you still need to take care of a few details to make sure you don't get caught. To begin with, wash your hands thoroughly, using a lot of soap. Hot water alone doesn't make the smoke smell go away.
Step 5. Brush your teeth
After smoking, the smell remains on the teeth as well as on the hands. Make sure you brush your teeth for at least two minutes, paying particular attention to the tongue and gums.
If your breath still smells like smoke, eat a candy or peppermint gum to fix the problem
Step 6. Take a shower
Washing completely is the most important step after smoking, because the smell of smoke permeates all surfaces it touches. Use a generous dose of shampoo and wash your body thoroughly. Pay particular attention to hair, which can absorb odors a lot. If you usually only focus on your hair when showering, remember to also clean your arms, legs, and other areas of your body that weren't covered with clothing while you were smoking. With the right amount of soap and shampoo, a three-minute shower should be enough to make the cigarette smell go away.
Step 7. Change your clothes
Lastly, put on new clothes after taking a shower. Even if you have been very careful to blow out the smoke, the smell will still reach your clothes. Changing your shirt and pants should be enough.
It is advisable to do your laundry yourself if you don't already do it. Those who wash your clothes may smell the smoke, even days away
Step 8. Stay calm
Smoking indoors is not a stressful activity, but trying to hide something, especially from a loved one, can carry a great emotional burden. If you have a tendency to suffer from anxiety or nervousness, the secrecy could trigger an unpleasant reaction, especially when you have to interact with the people who live with you again. If you have finished smoking and are feeling anxious or guilty, remember that you have already overcome the hardest part. If you have followed all the steps described here, other people should have no reason to think that you have smoked!
Advice
If you live in a situation that forces you to smoke indoors regularly, consider purchasing a hookah. The steam-based system of the hookah produces no bad smell or smoke and as a result many people have adopted it to circumvent smoking laws
Warnings
- Just because you can smoke indoors doesn't mean you should. People living with you could get very angry if they found out about you. Smoking indoors carries health risks. Evaluate the potential consequences before trying to smoke without getting caught and decide if it's worth doing.
- Also consider that, by smoking indoors, you can have negative effects on those who live with you. In addition to producing a bad smell, smoke damages the lungs of those who breathe it, discolours the walls and causes many other negative effects for the house and the people who live there. Smoking indoors from time to time is understandable, but try to be polite, understanding and not make a habit of doing it.
