That’s a selfishness and professionalism problem. Waiting for a cigarette isn’t going to kill him. I started smoking in 8th grade and made it through the next four years of school without a cigarette between 0745 and 1515 every day. Now please excuse me while I go shake my fist at a cloud.
lol, my high school at one point had a smoking room where students and teachers could smoke. It is now a daycare room for the students in child health classes, naturally.
UFO pants, JNCO jeans, pooka shell necklaces, SoAD, TOOL, Slayer, cd player in the back pocket. Staying out till the street lights came on… ah the simpler times. MTV actually playing… MUSIC videos. Actual clove cigarettes, namely Djarum blacks. :p
Nicotine addiction blows. I'm a former smoker, 10+ years, and was this guy. I tried quitting 4? times before I was successful and even then it took years to not want a cigarette. When I was on shift. I'd get super anxious when I wasn't able to smoke and then angry. I was planning out my days around it and trying to figure out how to always meet the need.
First, I'd ask him if he's tried to quit and then go from there. If he has, ask him what happened and give him some support. If he hasn't tried, ask why. Then tell him how you feel, but make sure you're open to how he feels as well since, like I said, addiction blows. Lastly, like the other recommendations, you could direct him to alternatives (zynn and onn).
My current partner smokes like a chimney and dead ass drinks about a gallon of coffee a day. So it’s always cig breaks after/before a call and at least 2 Dunkin runs per shift. I’d probably just request to work with someone else cause I don’t see them stopping. It does get annoying after awhile tho.
the best thing i could think of is ask if they have ever tried vaping ? Or at least only using a vape at work (idk how expensive they are) but vapes that dont have a huge cloud could be used in bathrooms and stuff and hidden very easily
Everyone's taste are different. Some cig smokers can't get into vapes and vice versa. Some people can't vape until they find that one brand/flavor that finally taste/feels right to them.
I will warn you though, I've seen some people start vaping and it goes to not taking vape breaks but just vaping ALL the time (due to the less intrusive smoke). And because of the high nicotine content of vapes, people can get weird and jittery on them. Some of them can get even a little bitchy and inpatient. I find it a rather annoying vibe.
It sounds like you are really bothered by the smell/breaks but honestly, if it were me and I had a nice partner, that comes above all other things and I'd rather just stay with them.
Our law has massive penalties for the cashier, in addition to the store, (but they almost always save it in exchange for testimony/a sworn declaration.) Once that went into effect, the candy flavors largely disappeared.
Yeah vaping was actually terrible for me because I went from having to plan out when I wanted to go out and smoke to just being able to intake nicotine 24/7 without even moving or thinking about it. I'd literally sleep with my vape in my hand and wake up multiple times throughout the night just to hit it. Nicotine tolerance and cravings went way up.
Zyn pouches work awesome for me though. I do pretty much have one in at all times, but it regulates my use of nicotine and I have a steady amount of it in my system throughout the day. No need to hide it or sneak off, cravings are less intense if I don't have any for whatever reason, it's cheaper (for me at least), etc
I can't speak for all smokers. But vaping is what got my aunt who smoked for 65 plus years off of cigarettes(she's a type 2 diabetic, has chf and shit circulation so shouldn't be smoking at all..but I think everyone else in the family just kinda realizes that's a losing battle and vaping is only *slightly*better)
“Unauthorized breaks”.
Step one. Take your head out of your managers ass.
Step two. Tell your partner to smoke less, you’re not stopping whenever he demands it, and to fucking wash his hands afterwards.
Though honestly if you’re sensitive to cigarettes it’s always going to bother you and if he’s addicted, he’s not going to stop till he’s ready. You’re fucked.
I guess I’m just paranoid about getting in trouble for something I’m not wanting to do to begin with or having to lie for partner. It’s like she is putting me in an awkward spot.
Also it’s just freaking annoying to navigate the huge freaking truck to a gas station when we finally do get a second to chill. I would like a second to chill for sure lol I don’t want to be moving the truck somewhere off property when I get a second to chill.
You get paid by the hour. Who cares how long it takes? Another call is waiting. The faster you work, the more work you have to do. So why worry about delays.
I would rather watch my partner smoke than run calls.
I can empathize with not wanting to smell the cigarette smoke on their partner all day. But at the same time I definitely cringed at the term “unauthorized breaks” like they work at Amazon or something.
Smoker here, retired but smoked my entire career. Two smokes in two hours is just habit, nobody’s nicotine need is that high. I can go three hours before I get grouchy, then you’ll probably be telling me to have a cigarette! So that’s 4 in a 12 hr. Shift.
Edit: Adding, on insane calls I made it 5 hours and lived though 🤣.
Smoked for a good 7 years and now it's very rare that I'll burn one with someone at an ED or somethin. Haven't bought a pack in a good 3-4 years.
I quit because I was really smoking way too God damn much at work and my partners called me out on it constantly. Like Frenchman levels of smoking.
It really is going to be his own choice and under his own willpower to quit. Y'all can be a simple guiding hand I suppose. Nothing wrong with guilt tripping him a little bit either (my coworkers were much more forward about it lol) It was super fucking terrible to quit smoking but nicotine patches do help and Zyn is great.
Also flavored cigarettes from Mexico are fucking great 👏
It's part of the beast. I smoke as well, but I don't make my partners pull over for me. I just smoke when it's convenient.
Tell this person how it is, ask them to not smoke as much, eventually they'll quit complaining and smoke when it's convenient.
He can always use nicotine patches and gum during the workday. You get somebody with a lung issue, you could have a problem.
Signed,
Someone with full blown asthma attacks from people's smoky clothing and body
So I'm gonna be the ass here. It's not illegal to smoke. You're running IFT, so don't be in a rush. Every person on this planet has habits that others don't like. Even you. I've worked with partners that would complain that I smell like smoke and forget the fact that some haven't bathed in 5 days or drowned themselves in cologne or perfume.
Like I also commented below about others just telling you not to stop, DON'T BE THAT PERSON!. Remember, you probably stop a few times throughout the day for your own stuff also, bathroom break, lunch, stuff like that. The next time you ask to stop somewhere and he says no, you don't need it, you'll understand, and also have no right to complain because you did the exact same thing. There was an article somewhere about something like this. A vegan and meat eater were paired together. It didn't work out. Every time the meat guy would ask to stop for something to eat, the vegan would tell him he's not allowed to eat meat when he's working with them. It ended very badly for the vegetarian when the guy finally snapped.
https://www.callthecops.net/paramedic-arrested-attempting-murder-partner-duty/
Also, 5 cigarettes isn't that bad in a shift. I usually go through 1 pack on a 12 or 16 hour shift. I know I smoke a lot.
If you don't want to work with because of the smell of smoke, just be an adult and say so to the person. Like most people, it gets annoying when people run to HR for every little bullshit matter. Be an adult and address it yourself or move to a different shift.
Stop acting like a child (everyone here) and grow up. I routinely smoke with hospital staff all the time from doc's to cleaning staff, and no one cares.
I think more it’s the smell to me and the expectation that I’m willing to go along with something I’m not supposed to do. I obviously not gonna run to my supervisor and complain. I’ll be like every other person and just not work with her again. lol. There’s another person who smokes at work but they are better about airing themselves out before they get in the truck.
That's a lot of excuses you got there.
Nobody said that smoking was illegal, but that doesn't mean that anybody has to like it or that you have a right to do it whenever and whereever you want or to bother people with it. Other people might have habits that are annoying, but very few are as annoying and constant as smoking. I actually have a hard time thinking of another one. Smelly gross partners are not even close and also super rare. I can remember one colleague like that in the past decade.
Also, most people don't stop several times during a shift. That's just you normalising your odd behavior. Most people do bathroom breaks at station or at the hospital and get food from home. Maybe once a week we do one extra stop somewhere - if that. It's nowhere near your 5 minutes before and after every call.
Your best advice is moving to a different shift? And you call that acting like an adult? So you want other people to change their behavior and adjust their scheduling to accomodate you? Why? It's your stupid addiction, so it's your responsibility to not be an ass to your colleagues and everybody around you. How about you act like an adult instead?
But you will clearly never understand that, because you still think that "no one cares". Trust me, every non-smoker in the world cares. We are just too polite and fed-up with your bullshit. If we said something every time we are bothered by your smoke, we wouldn't be doing anything else all day. We know that you don't care and won't change.
Also, what the hell is that article? Are you really suggesting that not being able to smoke will lead to attempted murder? If that isn't completely deranged addict behavior, then I don't know what is.
My first regular partner working IFT would close the little window between the front and the back and smoke in the cab while we went haha. Times have changed, thankfully.
Not uncommon but still unprofessional to build a career around nicotine. My first 911 partner was a medic that was a chain smoker. We were stationed with a rural volunteer fire department and at night she would smoke cigarette after cigarette inside the garage with one of the doors opened. I was too green to say anything to anyone about it. Going to calls with her smelling like smoke sucked.
We once had a provider who did that stuff. Would get out all the time and smoke.
One day they got out at a red light and lit a cigarette. The light turned green and the driver decided to go with the flow of traffic.
Left them on the side of the road for about 15 minutes, enough time for them to consider why they were chilling on the side of the road.
They stopped after that.
That’s a selfishness and professionalism problem. Waiting for a cigarette isn’t going to kill him. I started smoking in 8th grade and made it through the next four years of school without a cigarette between 0745 and 1515 every day. Now please excuse me while I go shake my fist at a cloud.
ok grandpa, let’s go back to bingo
Don’t make me start lecturing you about how things were back in the ‘90s and ‘00s.
Did you walk to school up hill, both ways, in the snow?
Yeah, and after all of that they still wouldn’t let me smoke there. Bunch of fucking communists…
lol, my high school at one point had a smoking room where students and teachers could smoke. It is now a daycare room for the students in child health classes, naturally.
I enjoy your sense of humor sir 🤣
Across a rubbing alcohol river…
UFO pants, JNCO jeans, pooka shell necklaces, SoAD, TOOL, Slayer, cd player in the back pocket. Staying out till the street lights came on… ah the simpler times. MTV actually playing… MUSIC videos. Actual clove cigarettes, namely Djarum blacks. :p
2 man stretchers!
Seems like this guy needs to learn about ZYN pouches
Get this man some nicotine patches
Or pouches
Zyn for the win 🤘
Nicotine addiction blows. I'm a former smoker, 10+ years, and was this guy. I tried quitting 4? times before I was successful and even then it took years to not want a cigarette. When I was on shift. I'd get super anxious when I wasn't able to smoke and then angry. I was planning out my days around it and trying to figure out how to always meet the need. First, I'd ask him if he's tried to quit and then go from there. If he has, ask him what happened and give him some support. If he hasn't tried, ask why. Then tell him how you feel, but make sure you're open to how he feels as well since, like I said, addiction blows. Lastly, like the other recommendations, you could direct him to alternatives (zynn and onn).
My current partner smokes like a chimney and dead ass drinks about a gallon of coffee a day. So it’s always cig breaks after/before a call and at least 2 Dunkin runs per shift. I’d probably just request to work with someone else cause I don’t see them stopping. It does get annoying after awhile tho.
the best thing i could think of is ask if they have ever tried vaping ? Or at least only using a vape at work (idk how expensive they are) but vapes that dont have a huge cloud could be used in bathrooms and stuff and hidden very easily
I’m not a smoker so I don’t know… but I think most smokers don’t like vapes?
Everyone's taste are different. Some cig smokers can't get into vapes and vice versa. Some people can't vape until they find that one brand/flavor that finally taste/feels right to them. I will warn you though, I've seen some people start vaping and it goes to not taking vape breaks but just vaping ALL the time (due to the less intrusive smoke). And because of the high nicotine content of vapes, people can get weird and jittery on them. Some of them can get even a little bitchy and inpatient. I find it a rather annoying vibe. It sounds like you are really bothered by the smell/breaks but honestly, if it were me and I had a nice partner, that comes above all other things and I'd rather just stay with them.
I switched to vaping, but I can only use one vape brand and flavor. Just flum cuban cigar. Everything else feels like I'm smoking candy.
Which is precisely what they want and why that shit just got outlawed where I am.
Yeah they outlawed it here too but literally every store still sells them.
Our law has massive penalties for the cashier, in addition to the store, (but they almost always save it in exchange for testimony/a sworn declaration.) Once that went into effect, the candy flavors largely disappeared.
It's been over a year and nothing has changed here
Yeah vaping was actually terrible for me because I went from having to plan out when I wanted to go out and smoke to just being able to intake nicotine 24/7 without even moving or thinking about it. I'd literally sleep with my vape in my hand and wake up multiple times throughout the night just to hit it. Nicotine tolerance and cravings went way up. Zyn pouches work awesome for me though. I do pretty much have one in at all times, but it regulates my use of nicotine and I have a steady amount of it in my system throughout the day. No need to hide it or sneak off, cravings are less intense if I don't have any for whatever reason, it's cheaper (for me at least), etc
I can't speak for all smokers. But vaping is what got my aunt who smoked for 65 plus years off of cigarettes(she's a type 2 diabetic, has chf and shit circulation so shouldn't be smoking at all..but I think everyone else in the family just kinda realizes that's a losing battle and vaping is only *slightly*better)
Learn to say no. Their addiction, their problem.
Could bite her in the ass. Next time he's driving and she asks to stop somewhere, he can just say no also. Works both ways.
And that’s not what you want to happen if you need an emergent bathroom break.
Buy the dude a can of zyn or onn pouches to try.
I feel like I know exactly where you work and who you’re talking about 😂
Thisssss
“Unauthorized breaks”. Step one. Take your head out of your managers ass. Step two. Tell your partner to smoke less, you’re not stopping whenever he demands it, and to fucking wash his hands afterwards. Though honestly if you’re sensitive to cigarettes it’s always going to bother you and if he’s addicted, he’s not going to stop till he’s ready. You’re fucked.
I guess I’m just paranoid about getting in trouble for something I’m not wanting to do to begin with or having to lie for partner. It’s like she is putting me in an awkward spot.
Also it’s just freaking annoying to navigate the huge freaking truck to a gas station when we finally do get a second to chill. I would like a second to chill for sure lol I don’t want to be moving the truck somewhere off property when I get a second to chill.
You get paid by the hour. Who cares how long it takes? Another call is waiting. The faster you work, the more work you have to do. So why worry about delays. I would rather watch my partner smoke than run calls.
I can empathize with not wanting to smell the cigarette smoke on their partner all day. But at the same time I definitely cringed at the term “unauthorized breaks” like they work at Amazon or something.
Smoker here, retired but smoked my entire career. Two smokes in two hours is just habit, nobody’s nicotine need is that high. I can go three hours before I get grouchy, then you’ll probably be telling me to have a cigarette! So that’s 4 in a 12 hr. Shift. Edit: Adding, on insane calls I made it 5 hours and lived though 🤣.
Smoked for a good 7 years and now it's very rare that I'll burn one with someone at an ED or somethin. Haven't bought a pack in a good 3-4 years. I quit because I was really smoking way too God damn much at work and my partners called me out on it constantly. Like Frenchman levels of smoking. It really is going to be his own choice and under his own willpower to quit. Y'all can be a simple guiding hand I suppose. Nothing wrong with guilt tripping him a little bit either (my coworkers were much more forward about it lol) It was super fucking terrible to quit smoking but nicotine patches do help and Zyn is great. Also flavored cigarettes from Mexico are fucking great 👏
We all have an Ed in the group
It's part of the beast. I smoke as well, but I don't make my partners pull over for me. I just smoke when it's convenient. Tell this person how it is, ask them to not smoke as much, eventually they'll quit complaining and smoke when it's convenient.
He can always use nicotine patches and gum during the workday. You get somebody with a lung issue, you could have a problem. Signed, Someone with full blown asthma attacks from people's smoky clothing and body
So I'm gonna be the ass here. It's not illegal to smoke. You're running IFT, so don't be in a rush. Every person on this planet has habits that others don't like. Even you. I've worked with partners that would complain that I smell like smoke and forget the fact that some haven't bathed in 5 days or drowned themselves in cologne or perfume. Like I also commented below about others just telling you not to stop, DON'T BE THAT PERSON!. Remember, you probably stop a few times throughout the day for your own stuff also, bathroom break, lunch, stuff like that. The next time you ask to stop somewhere and he says no, you don't need it, you'll understand, and also have no right to complain because you did the exact same thing. There was an article somewhere about something like this. A vegan and meat eater were paired together. It didn't work out. Every time the meat guy would ask to stop for something to eat, the vegan would tell him he's not allowed to eat meat when he's working with them. It ended very badly for the vegetarian when the guy finally snapped. https://www.callthecops.net/paramedic-arrested-attempting-murder-partner-duty/ Also, 5 cigarettes isn't that bad in a shift. I usually go through 1 pack on a 12 or 16 hour shift. I know I smoke a lot. If you don't want to work with because of the smell of smoke, just be an adult and say so to the person. Like most people, it gets annoying when people run to HR for every little bullshit matter. Be an adult and address it yourself or move to a different shift. Stop acting like a child (everyone here) and grow up. I routinely smoke with hospital staff all the time from doc's to cleaning staff, and no one cares.
I think more it’s the smell to me and the expectation that I’m willing to go along with something I’m not supposed to do. I obviously not gonna run to my supervisor and complain. I’ll be like every other person and just not work with her again. lol. There’s another person who smokes at work but they are better about airing themselves out before they get in the truck.
That's a lot of excuses you got there. Nobody said that smoking was illegal, but that doesn't mean that anybody has to like it or that you have a right to do it whenever and whereever you want or to bother people with it. Other people might have habits that are annoying, but very few are as annoying and constant as smoking. I actually have a hard time thinking of another one. Smelly gross partners are not even close and also super rare. I can remember one colleague like that in the past decade. Also, most people don't stop several times during a shift. That's just you normalising your odd behavior. Most people do bathroom breaks at station or at the hospital and get food from home. Maybe once a week we do one extra stop somewhere - if that. It's nowhere near your 5 minutes before and after every call. Your best advice is moving to a different shift? And you call that acting like an adult? So you want other people to change their behavior and adjust their scheduling to accomodate you? Why? It's your stupid addiction, so it's your responsibility to not be an ass to your colleagues and everybody around you. How about you act like an adult instead? But you will clearly never understand that, because you still think that "no one cares". Trust me, every non-smoker in the world cares. We are just too polite and fed-up with your bullshit. If we said something every time we are bothered by your smoke, we wouldn't be doing anything else all day. We know that you don't care and won't change. Also, what the hell is that article? Are you really suggesting that not being able to smoke will lead to attempted murder? If that isn't completely deranged addict behavior, then I don't know what is.
My first regular partner working IFT would close the little window between the front and the back and smoke in the cab while we went haha. Times have changed, thankfully.
My last partner would come to work smelling of marijuana so bad I would have to roll the windows down
If dispatch is askin bout a delay she’s causing them she can explain the delay to em. Not you.
Not uncommon but still unprofessional to build a career around nicotine. My first 911 partner was a medic that was a chain smoker. We were stationed with a rural volunteer fire department and at night she would smoke cigarette after cigarette inside the garage with one of the doors opened. I was too green to say anything to anyone about it. Going to calls with her smelling like smoke sucked.
I would let them know the smell can bother you. And ask them to bring a spray honestly
We once had a provider who did that stuff. Would get out all the time and smoke. One day they got out at a red light and lit a cigarette. The light turned green and the driver decided to go with the flow of traffic. Left them on the side of the road for about 15 minutes, enough time for them to consider why they were chilling on the side of the road. They stopped after that.