Single mums on a quest to find a date might see their odds increase if they vape instead of smoke, according to survey data released by the online dating service Match. How exactly do daters see vapers and smokers? Thanks to surveys like Match’s and others like the one conducted by Inogen, which manufactures portable oxygen concentrators, we might actually have some valuable insight into how vaping and smoking are perceived in the high-stakes world of dating where impressions are everything.

Most People Would Prefer Not To Date A Smoker, But What About A Vaper?

The vast majority (almost 9 out of 10) of the Match.com members that responded to the dating company’s survey said that they would rather not date someone who smokes. For mums who smoke, those aren’t good odds! But that’s not to say that you absolutely can’t land a date if you smoke, only that your chances appear to be much worse than were you to quit. But what about the mums who vape, how did they fair in this survey?

Mums who vape saw much better odds with less than half of the survey’s respondents indicating that they wouldn’t date a vaper. Based on the survey data, it appears the chances of landing a date could basically double for mums who switch from smoking to vaping, and that’s obviously not the only reason to switch.

Why Most Daters Would Rather Not Date A Smoker

If the surveys cited above are an accurate portrayal of how people feel about dating a smoker and why they would prefer not to, the reasons why daters don’t want to date smokers if they can help it include the awful smell, secondhand smoke and the problems that go with it, the possibility that their partner will have health issues because they smoke, the bad taste that goes with kissing them, yellow teeth, and the cost of maintaining the habit.

For mums who have never kissed someone who smokes, you may not know how awful the taste can be. Assuming you have an idea of what a used ashtray smells like, just imagine kissing that and you have an idea of what it’s like to kiss a smoker.

Is Vaping Really That Much Less Offensive To Daters?

Have you ever smelled secondhand smoke? Maybe you liked it, but probably you didn’t. And it doesn’t just smell bad, it’s bad for you! But is vaping really that much different? At the least, it doesn’t smell the same. The vape juice that vapers use with their vapes, which is something that you should never leave unattended if you’re a mum who vapes, comes in tons of different flavours so the vapour that you might smell when someone uses one can smell like anything from a fruit like apple or watermelon to a dessert like vanilla slice or custard. That’s just how the smell differs. What about the cost?

Vaping can cost less than smoking. If you’re thinking about the future, do you really want to date someone that’s weighed down by the cost of smoking? That’s an expensive habit and that money could obviously be better used elsewhere like sending the kids to uni.

Then there’s the awful way that a smoker tastes when you kiss them to consider. Is it the same when you kiss a vaper? Nope. It’s a lot like the difference between the smell of smoke versus the smell of vapour, which is to say that it’s worlds apart. One tastes like an ashtray and the other tastes like, well, whatever it is, they’re vaping.

Do People Actually Want To Date A Single Mum?

Regardless of whether you smoke or vape, you may have wondered at some point whether anyone actually wants to date a single mum. Good news: they do.

According to research commissioned by online dating company eHarmony, more than half of the male online daters that they surveyed would be happy to pursue a relationship with a single mum. For that matter, as a single parent, you might not be surprised to find that most single parents believe that it would be easier for them to date someone who has kids.

Breaking this down in more detail, their research showed that 52% of the males they surveyed indicated that they would be happy to date someone that already has kids and 53% didn’t think that someone having kids from a prior relationship would cause any issues.

As for the single parents that were surveyed, 63% indicated that they thought it would be easier for them to date someone who was also a single parent.

What An eHarmony Psychologist Has To Say

Reflecting on some of the findings of the research, Sharon Draper, a psychologist with eHarmony, said that the survey shows that over 70% of men and women that don’t have kids “aren’t deterred by a potential partner’s kids” and that most of them are not only willing but happy to play a part in the lives of their partner’s kids as their relationship develops.

Draper also finds it unsurprising to find that single mums, in particular, really struggle to meet someone compatible because they often end up with the responsibility of raising the children when they separate from the partner with whom they share the kids. As the kids tend to monopolise the time of a single parent, it can be hard for single mums to not only find the free time but to justify its use by going out with people they’re not sure they see themselves having a future with. If you’re a single mum interested in making that special connection with someone and developing a relationship, you might want to take a look at our list of the best online dating sites. If you’re not sure where to even start when it comes to dating after a breakup or divorce, take a look at our tips for dating after a breakup.