Smoking is definitely a terrible habit and you can hardly find any advantage it brings. Quite the opposite, it has been scientifically proven that cigarettes contain tons of harmful substances that pose a huge threat to smoker’s health and those who inhale the smoke. Yet, quitting the bad habit is difficult. As Mark Twain says: “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times”. Anyway, apart from health hazards, cigarettes are also notorious for the bad smell that lingers for a long time. If you are a non-smoker and you enter a room where someone has smoked, you will smell a strong unpleasant odour. However, if you are a smoker, it might not make any difference to you unless the nicotine levels in your body are low and you are dying to light a cigarette. No matter if you are a smoker or not, you should take adequate measures towards neutralising the bad odour at home. Here are a few tips on how can you remedy the situation:

• You know that carpets absorb all kinds of unpleasant smells, including tobacco smoke. In order to neutralise the smell, you can opt for the well-known properties of baking soda. Sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet and let it sit overnight. Then, vacuum as usual. If that method turns ineffective, you should take carpet cleaning to the next level and arrange professionals or shampoo the carpet on your own. Yet, booking with a professional company seems the best solution as the powerful steam cleaning machines will not only eliminate the cigarette smell but they will also extract the accumulated dirt.

• Vinegar smells bad, no doubt about it. However, the cigarette smoke smells worse, so if you want to eliminate the odour with homemade solutions, you’d better opt for using white vinegar. Bring the vinegar to boil and then distribute it into several containers. Put them in the smelliest areas at home. If you want to clean your sofa and furniture, dampen a microfiber cloth with the white vinegar solution and treat the upholstery and the items of furniture. If you can tolerate the vinegar smell, you can also soak cotton balls into vinegar and place them in the room corners.

• Change the filters of the air conditioner regularly. That might not completely eliminate the cigarette smell, but the quality of the indoor air will be significantly improved.

• It is a good idea to buy an air purifier, but make sure you choose one that is suitable for the size of the room.

• Baking soda can do a good job with the bad smell if you had thrown a party and cleaning up the mess on the next day includes cigarette smell neutralisation. However, if the situation is worse, you have to invest in a more powerful “tool” namely activated charcoal. It can be found in the pet stores as activated charcoal is used in aquarium filters. Put a small quantity of charcoal into a suitable container and leave it in the smelly room for a few days. It takes some more time for the odour to be neutralised, but it will definitely help.

• The more plants you have at home, the easier it will be to deal with the bad tobacco smell. Plants are natural air purifiers, so you’d better make a trip to the nearest store and buy a spider plant. The latter is not demanding. As long as you water it regularly and keep it out of the reach of the sun, it should be fine.

• If you take a look at the products in the pet store and you come across a kitty litter that contains charcoal, you can put it in small containers and distribute them around the house.

• What about the removal of cigarette smells from your clothes. For the purpose, you can use fabric sheets that have odour-neutralising properties. Under no circumstances should you put half-smoked cigarettes in your pocket, as the smell will be much stronger and therefore more difficult to remove.

• If you have a habit of smoking in the car, keep dryer sheets or wet wipes near you and wipe down the surfaces to keep the bad smell to the minimum.

Dealing with cigarette smell is quite a challenging task, but the most effective solution is to eliminate the root of the problem. In other words, the best thing you can do is to talk to your guests and family members and just ask them to smoke outside. Install ashtrays on the balcony or in the garden. If you consider it too rude to ask your guests to go outside to light a cigarette when it is freezing cold outside, you can simply establish an area designated for smokers next to a window or in a room with good ventilation.