# is cigarette smoke harmful to computers?



## kmcma2002 (Jun 7, 2002)

I smoke while working on my computer on a scale from one to ten one being slightly harmful and ten being totally harmful how harmful is it to do so?


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## bilnrobn (Jan 16, 2003)

Harmful to you or the computer? To you 10, to the computer I think 0, but someone with more knowledge might disagree and correct me on that. Dropping ash in the keyboard is the only hazard I can think of.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, I know whenever my computer smokes, it normally ceases to function, so I'd have to say it's harmful!


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## Wet Chicken (Sep 11, 2000)

> _Originally posted by johnwill:_
> *Well, I know whenever my computer smokes, it normally ceases to function, so I'd have to say it's harmful!  *


ROFL 

The U.S. government has specially made rooms with all of their computer systems which are specially cooled and the air is filtered. I have also heard of cigarette smoke messing up CD pickup lasers. I think it would also matter how long the exposure to smoke was. I know it's hard to quit, but it would be great if you could


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## FordGuy057 (Sep 17, 2003)

They say that smoking harms those around you more than it does yourself, and I dont know about yours, but my computer seems to have a mind of its own, so I would say that yes, smoking can be harmful to you computers health.  Possibly as bad as dust. 10, because it can get on the contacts, ets inside your computer and cause a faulty connection. No bueno.


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## beefy (Aug 4, 2002)

Have you ever ridden in a car that was owned/driven by a smoker. If you just look out the windshield of that car, you will most likely see a film on that window. More than likely that same film will cause some kind of problems to your system--to say nothing of the occasional piece of cigarette ash floating around in the air.

P.S. Just thought of another reason to QUIT. All the money you save by not smoking, you could afford a new and better computer.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I don't allow smokers around my computers......the monitor sucks the smoke in and so does the case. Have you ever opened a computer case from a smoker.......YUK......everything just reaks of smoke and the inside is just filthy ugly, argh, need I say more 

Not to mention the yellow shade your monitor and tower acquires


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## DVOM (Jun 21, 2002)

The "tar" from the smoke gets on your internal comp parts and makes the dust stick. Makes it impossible to get the dust off with just compressed air.

Edit: Thought this would be a good thread to post the "Smoke Theory of Electronics"

_"While going over old course files in electronic devices, I came across
a sheet of paper, and as I read it, the realization of a basic truth
came over me. So simple! So obvious, yet I had failed to see it.
Lab Kitburnt, the legendary circuits TA, the creator of the field now
known as fried electronics, had discovered how ICs work. He says that
smoke is the thing that makes an IC work because every time you let
the smoke out of it, it stops working. He claims to have verified
this with thorough testing.
I was flabbergasted! Of course! Smoke makes all things electrical
work. Remember the last time smoke escaped from your 6.002 lab kit.
Didn't it quit working? I sat and smiled like an idiot as more of the
truth dawned. It's the wires that carry the smoke from the smoke
supply to the lab kit. So if the wires were to spring a leak, nothing
would work properly because there wouldn't be enough smoke reaching
the lab kit. If there is a large smoke leak, the smoke supply would go
crazy trying to generate all that smoke and would itself spring a
leak. But how could this be? Yes...of course! Smoke comes from a
fire, and more smoke means a larger fire. Kindling the fire too much
would melt the seals, allowing some smoke, and maybe even flames, to
escape. If the fire gets too hot (you bet you can feel it!), the smoke
supply's fuel cuts off, extinguishing the fire and stopping the smoke.
High wattage transistors require more smoke to operate properly, and
that's why the wires going to them are larger. All that smoke also
tends to make them hotter, so they require a heatsink. And yes, when
a power electronic circuit springs a leak, it lets out much more smoke
than a logic circuit." _


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## kmcma2002 (Jun 7, 2002)

Wow thank you for the info filled reply to my question. I did not expect to receive such an elaborate answer to my question Thanks for your time.


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