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Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!

Thomas3.20.2010
0 5 10

 

 

Smoking ruins the flavour of coffee - for ever!

  
  

 Toxic chemicals in tobacco harm ability to taste even after giving up.

  

Smoking spoils the taste of a cup of coffee – even after quitting, say scientists.

  

Wake up and smell the coffee: Smokers could be destroying their ability to taste caffeine - despite a coffee and a cigarette historically being enjoyed together

  

 

  

The strong, bitter taste of caffeine is usually easily detected, even in tiny amounts – but not for those who light up. It seems their ability to taste is harmed by the toxic chemicals found in tobacco.

  

 

  

To find out whether taste is still affected even after people stop smoking, scientists tested how well 451 volunteers could recognise the four basic flavours of sweet, sour, bitter and salty, as well as the intensity of each taste.

  



The study, published in the journal Chemosensory Perception, found that whether the volunteers smoked or not did not affect whether they could recognise salty, sweet or sour tastes – but it did have an effect on the bitter taste of caffeine.

One in five smokers and one in four ex-smokers could not correctly recognise the taste. However, a mere 13 per cent of non-smokers failed the taste test.

  

 

  

Researchers believe the build-up of tobacco in the body could stop taste buds renewing themselves and so harm a person’s ability to recognise certain tastes, even after they have stopped smoking.

  

 

  

The experiment was conducted on 451 staff in Parisian hospitals.

  

The participants were grouped into smokers, non-smokers and people who had quit smoking in tests conducted over the course of three consecutive World No-Tobacco Days.

  

 

  

Bitterness can generally be tasted at very low concentrations, but not so for those who light up, the study said.

  

 

  

Dr Nelly Jacob, of Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, where the experiment was conducted, said that this ability to taste bitter foods and drinks ‘should be examined more closely’ in order to help people stop smoking, as well preventing people from taking up the habit.

  

 

  

'More generally it should be worthwhile to consider the role of chemo-sensory perceptions in smoking behaviour,' Dr Jacob added.

  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2590336/Smoking-ruins-flavour-coffee-Toxic-chemicals-tobac...
 

  



 


 

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About the Author
63 years old. 20 year smoker. 11 Years FREE! Diagnosed with COPD. Choosing a Quality LIFE! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. -Galatians 5:1