The portable PC's uniquely moreish smell became an obsession among the community, so Valve asked Steam Deck owners to stop inhaling fumes from the air vent.
Dozens of posts over on the steam deck subreddit show players discovering the smell of their fresh Decks; I have seen posts comparing its scent to a new car, US store Lowes and a fresh PS1 controller. There are posts that call it the "best smell on Earth" and ask for a steam deck scent air freshener as the "new deck smell" fades. Metapod 100 contacted steam's customer support to see if the smell is safe to inhale after praising the smell for a long time. Coming out of a block of plastic filled with electronics. It is somewhat of a meme to enjoy the fumes but I think I like it a lot. Valve is the image credit.
They said that you shouldn't get hooked on the fumes of the electronic device. While there are no safety concerns with general usage of the device, it should be avoided to directly inhale the device's vent fumes. They said that they understand that it may be a meme, but please refrain from this behavior for the safety of your health. "I'm just going to keep doing it, and I think the newer version of the steam deck makes it easier to tear your nose away."