HACKER Q&A
📣 amichail

Glasses with lights that flash whenever they detect cigarette smoke?


I’ve been thinking about a wearable that could make cigarette smoke more visible in public settings. Imagine glasses that flash lights whenever they detect cigarette smoke.

The goal isn’t for the wearer to detect cigarette smoke—they can already smell it—but to:

* Alert others that there’s secondhand smoke in the area.

* Show smokers how far their smoke travels, making the invisible visible.

What do you think of this idea?

  👤 pirates Accepted Answer ✓
> * Alert others that there’s secondhand smoke in the area.

They will smell it in a moment too. They might even be able to smell it before they see the glasses.

> * Show smokers how far their smoke travels, making the invisible visible.

They don’t care about this, especially in a place where smoking is allowed. And if it isn’t allowed then the solution is to kick them out, and therefore there will be no more smoke soon and the glasses won’t be doing much.

👤 ano-ther
It draws the attention more to the non-smoking wearer rather than to the smoker. People may be puzzled about what the signal means.
👤 stevenalowe
Sounds like virtue signaling