I would not hire a smoker to work in my home.

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Birmingham, Alabama:
 

When I first bought my home, I immediately had to replace all the plumbing. When I called to schedule the job (which would take several days), I made it very clear to the manager that I have asthma and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES could I have smoking in my house. He assured me it would not be a problem.

When I came home, my chest got tight immediately. I was furious. It ends up that they were smoking in the doorway or by a window and "blowing out" through the windows or doors. I told them that was not acceptable, and I was very upset over how I was going to get these allergens out of my house.

They came back the next day. Although they did not smoke in my house, I came home to find stomped-out cigarette butts covering my carport. Again, I was upset. I finally had to nail a "No Smoking" sign by the entrance of my house (which remains to this day). I called back the manager and said if they wanted to finish the job, I would have to ask that his employees not smoke on my property at all. Unfortunately, all of his staff were smokers. But they finally complied and finished the job.

For people who have never experienced a lung disease, it's impossible to understand the impact that smoke has on their lungs. For me, it feels like a brick is on my chest, or as if someone was literally squeezing my lungs tight so that I can't get air in. It's scary, and it can be life-threatening.

Anytime I need work done, I am very clear on this point.

California:
 

Kentucky:
 

I just wished I had the money too hire someone. I have a two story wall in the
entry going up the stairs, that I've been trying to remove since last summer. I can't get
to the top, for one I get too dizzy. I don't allow smoke in my home. I can't stand the
way smokers smell.

Kentucky:
 

Years ago I was less stringent in my thoughts about cigarette smoke, but the
more I've learned of the health risks related to being around second hand
smoke, the less I want to ever be around it. I used to live in an apartment
building where the lady upstairs smoked. I could smell her smoke somehow as
it seeped through the floor. I hated that. Today, I would never want anyone
smoking in or around my home if I could help it. Cigarette smoke has a way
of infiltrating and clinging to everything it touches. It is a greasy smoke
that is very difficult, if not impossible to remove from walls. As a
contractor who does a bit of painting, I know how much more expense is
involved in painting the home of a smoker. An entire extra coat of oil base
primer is needed on everything to seal the nicotene smoke stain, which
otherwise bleeds through latex paint and causes small brownish spots. Water
or alcohol based stain killers are ineffective (I've tried). The smell and
health risk of breathing that disease causing smoke is just too great to let
anyone casually light up in my home. Neither I nor my helpers even want to
work in the home of a smoker, though, sometimes we do. I hate breathing that
foul air.

Regarding the hiring of smokers for my construction crew; not any more. They
are too much of a risk and a drag to have around. I had one smoker who
worked for me for a couple months who agreed to only smoke off the site at
lunch. Very few smokers are able to go that long without partaking of their
addition. The day is here already where some employers just don't want the
added liability of a smoker on their team. And health care benefits...forget
it.

Canada:

Common sense and courtesy dictate that one ask if it is all right before
lighting up in someone else's home. Lighting up and then, to top it off,
pulling an attitude when asked to put it out is the height of arrogance.
I expect your partner's rudeness cost you a lot of business. You're
lucky s/he didn't cause someone to have an asthma attack or put burn
marks in anything, and expose you to legal liability.

I'll take these stories as a warning to make sure that any written
contract I ever enter into stipulates "no smoking anywhere on my
property, indoors or outdoors," and that breaking this stipulation
constitutes immediate termination of the contract, with the smoker
and/or company responsible for the conduct of the smoker agreeing to pay
for any damages caused by the smoker's behaviour (cleaning out the
smell, mending burns, etc.)

If someone came in reeking of smoke or heavy fragrance, I'd at the very
least open all the doors and windows and let them know why. If they were
scheduled to come back, I would speak either to them or their manager
and ask that they return with a more professional odour or be replaced
by someone who knows what that is. If it ever happened again or there
was any difficulty in compliance, I would definitely not hire that
person again and would mention it to others.

In one office where I worked, our stationery supplier always sent us
packages reeking of smoke, delivered by a woman who stunk likewise. The
situation improved after I started asking, every time I placed an order,
that she not smoke in the van until after she delivered our supplies,
but if I forgot to mention that on ordering, the supplies would still
arrive smelling like an ashtray. By the time I quit that job, I was
ready to switch to another supplier. Had I stayed, they would have lost
our business, and I would have told them why.

I also complained once to a grocery store when my groceries were
delivered reeking of smoke by a delivery guy who had obviously smoked in
the van. It never happened again. I also boycott hairdressers who stink
of smoke and/or heavy perfume.

Although it is illegal in British Columbia to refuse to hire someone
because they smoke, I would go to court to challenge that if this
extended to having to put up with reeking smokers or overusers of
perfume in my home environment. Also, if I were in charge of hiring at
an office, I would definitely favour an equally or even somewhat less
qualified candidate who had the brains and professionalism to show up
for an interview not smelling like a French brothel.

BTW, when I mention perfume, I mean people who smell as though they
marinate in it or apply it with a fire hose - usually smokers, sometimes
ex-smokers, rarely anyone else. The recommended application, so that the
average person can only smell it within an arm's length's distance,
doesn't bother me.