When I smoked, it was only about a half pack per day, and I quit while in my early 20s. I did go through a program to quit smoking, after failing on my own a few times. One of the questions they asked during the follow-up interviews was whether my sense of smell had improved, and seemed disappointed that there had been no noticeable change. Truth is, I don't think my sense of smell had been diminished by smoking. Perhaps if I had smoked more, and for a longer period of time, there would have been a difference. Most of the other questions they asked, such as whether I had a more active dream life, was also one that hadn't changed with smoking, so there was nothing to improve after. Today, perhaps there has been some diminishment in my sense of smell but, if so, it has had to do with aging rather than anything else, I think, and it certainly hasn't been anything drastic.
As a retired chef, we recognize that after a few years it is the taste buds which seem to dwindle but the nose stays true in most cases. For I and my rather large, thick and proud proboscis, it is not a matter of losing the sense smell for I can generally differentiate what type of pollen is on a bees legs and whether it is hibiscus or that of a petunia if a bee gets close, that is, if I knew the difference in a hibiscus or a petunia. To be truthful, I haven’t noticed anything different but then, perhaps it’s just something that I haven’t been particularly observant about. Now, I will have to test things out and get back to this thread with a better answer.
Gloria are you asking about DMSO it is Dimethyl Sulfoxide and that probably did not help much. If you go into PUB med research web site there is over 223,000 reports on the usage. It is used in veterinarian medicine [ horse lineament] it is also used in treating some human ailments. There was an ailment here in the DR called chikungunya a virus carried by mosquitoes it left people with very server arthritic type pain. I could cure people in ten minuets and also gave it to two doctors who also agreed with me. There is a lot of literature out there that say it is nature's healer. It is available on Amazon. Good luck hope that is what you wanted to know.
No, my nose and my taste buds don't work. They haven't for several years. I have researched the problem online and found that this goes with getting older. I found there are a lot of seniors like us with these problems. Our immune system gets weaker and makes us allergic to things we normally would not have been allergic to. Apparently, it is allergies because I own a cat and for years, she did not bother me but now, she does. When I leave for several hours, my nose opens up and I can taste again. When I come home, it's not long until I close up again and can't taste or smell. Just remember, you're not alone.
As we get older the chances Osteoporosis a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone. This weakens the cranial nerve passages to the brain called the vagus nerves. As they close up it can effect taste, hearing, balance, smell, facial nerves, saliva production and sight. This is the reason of older people having these problems
I used to have a very good nose. Everyone would kid me about it because I would always automatically take a whiff of everything I picked up. I don't think it has changed much, but don't know how to compare. Coincidentally, when I walked into my parents' mobile home at the farm yesterday, it smelled like someone had been in the house brewing coffee again. I don't think I mentioned it here, but skunks can give off an odor that smells like cheap coffee. I couldn't find any place where they could have gotten under the house. It's been a puzzle.
I still have an acute sense of smell at age 82, but my right nostrille is always running, and I sometimes go through 2 handkerchiefs in a day. (I know it's spelled "nostril", but I like it better my way.) Hal
I terminated the use of tobacco 41 years ago, (when I was 41), and I find the smell of cigarette smoke to be disgusting, and am constantly reminding myself that I'm so glad that I quit! Cigarette smokers no longer seem "cool", like the gangsters in 1940's movies. I used to pay 25-30 cents for pack of Kents, but today, they run several bucks a pack, so now it costs much more to develop lung cancer! Hal
@Nancy Hart Interesting! "Skunk coffee"..........we have always called it by a more noxious name........ Frank
It's been 47 years since I quit. I also find the smell of cigarette smoke to be repulsive, even sometime after the fact, such as when I am given a hotel room that a previous guest has smoked in. It certainly doesn't make me want to light up. I kind of like the smell of pipe tobacco but I'm not sure that I even know anyone who smokes a pipe anymore.