Smoke-Free Environment

[Matt]

Originally Posted by jupin11

I often see card and antique dealers describing their items as having come from "smoke-free environments." What effect does cigarette smoke have on cards? Is the effect minimized if the cards are slabbed?

I thought this was just a bad smell thing - cigarette odor stays with something and might not be appealing to a buyer.

edited to add: I believe some folks have allergic reactions to smoke as well which may be another reason.

[Section103]

In theory, prolonged exposure to smoke could cause some amount of discoloration, but if the cards are exposed enough to be damaged by smoke, they're probably much more severly damaged by light and wear-n-tear.

I respectfully place myself in line for Wonkaticket's collection should he decide to rid himself of such contamination. I'll even speak well of you to everyone I know.

[drc]

The answer is some people don't like their stuff to smell like smoke.

I don't think it's a big deal with a baseball card, but, as you can imagine, many people don't want a shirt to smell like someone else's smoke.

If you are a smoker-- if the cards are stored normally (in boxes, holders, not displayed 24/7 on your coffee table), I doubt your smoking will have effect on the cards.

[bbcard1]

I once sold a lot from a guy who was a HEAVY smoker and it did have a little odor...I expect it dissapated.

I am more concerned about my ballcards being dolphin-free.

[prewarsports]

One time I bought a scrapbook on ebay and when the thing arrived you could smell the item through the box and tape! It made my office smell like I was a chain smoker so I took it outside and pulled out what I wanted and just threw the rest away it was so bad (nothing valuable, a bunch of newspaper clippings etc). I had no idea things could stink so bad from cigarette exposure over the years but this was also a large book with lots of things to absorb the smell. I cant imagine one card could get that bad. I think it is normally a clothing/apolstry thing where it can be a big issue.

[FUBAR]

if you want to know what smoking does to cards, find a heavy smoker who has live in one place for an extended period of time. Then take a cloth with cleaner on it and wipe one spot on a wall for about 30 seconds..... See the nasty difference?

[Vol]

Personally, I support old tobacco cards, and I support the tobacco! I guess if you sat there and consistently blew smoke directly at the cards, that yellow stain would occur!