Smokers

[alewar]

Is it true that GUE instructors refuse to train smokers?
How do they actually enforce something like that?

 

[TSandM]

They can't. You have to state on your registration material that you do not smoke, and obviously, you cannot smoke at all during the class. What you do afterwards, they have no power over, although GUE can revoke cards. I've never heard of it being done for taking up smoking, though. However, you certainly wouldn't be popular in the GUE community where you live, as a smoker.

 

[ucfdiver]

I think you'd have a hard time dealing with the long days of diving involved in technical diving classes (without smoking at all) if you were an addicted smoker. I cannot imagine anyone who's over the age of 13 thinking it's cool to go around smelling like an ashtray, so I'd assume very few take up smoking post class, given that 18 is the minimum age.

I also know that on the GUE/DIR charter boats I've been on, smoking is not allowed.

 

[Dsix36]

I was still a smoker when I did my rebreather training. I was not allowed to smoke for a minimum of 1 hour prior to diving. Those were the longest 1 hour periods of my life. When the diving was over there was absolutely nothing or anybody that could have kept me from lighting up. I think it would be very easy to tell who the addicted smokers were after a dive. They would be the ones that were mumbling incoherintly and could not keep their hands still (yep, just like me).

P.S.
I quit smoking after I got certified on the rebreather. I finally found something that made it worthwhile. That was 6 years ago.

 

[lamont]

I know of several closeted smokers with GUE technical certs. There isn't any enforcement other than socially.

 

[lv2dive]

Well, GUE is what is what got me to finally quit smoking after over two decades. And I have stayed that way for two and a half years. As a smoker up to not-long-before-I-took fundies, I fully support the fitness requirement that includes the non-smoking provision. It was the thing that pushed me over the edge to finally get me to quit. Of course, I already wanted to quit, and had tried - the GUE requirement just gave me the extra motivation.

I am not personally aware of any closeted smokers - in fact I know of another long-time smoker who quit to take Fundies and has managed to maintain her non-smoker status on a cruise and through some stressful times. For me, if I'm subscribing to a program that doesn't allow smoking, I'm going not going to be a smoker (Never mind that I'm in High Springs every other weekend at a minimum, and I'm sure I'd get caught LOL)

 

[nadwidny]

When I was going through technical training way back when, my IANTD instructors wouldn't teach anyone who was an active smoker. And this predated GUE. So it's not just a GUE thing.