Dear Queenie,
I don’t smoke, but I’ve been dating a man who does. I like him a lot, except for his smoking because his clothes always smell of cigarette smoke and his breath is foul with it so I can’t stand kissing him.
He has asked me why I don’t want to kiss him and I make all sorts of excuses, like I have a cold or something, but he’s starting to wonder about it.
Queenie, should I tell him the truth?—Smoked out
Dear Smoked out,
By all means, tell him how his nicotine habit makes you feel. Try to do so as gently as possible, but let him know that his smoking offends you.
If he likes you well enough to try to break his habit, it will be for his own good as well as to soothe your feelings. The dangerous effects smoking can have on a person’s health are well documented, not to mention the dangers second-hand smoke pose to those around him.
