Smoking and the Power of Smell

You've heard it said that humans have fivecorrelation of smoke and its ability to trigger a
senses-smell, hearing, vision, touch and taste-but onlyresponse in someone trying to quit, there is one aspect
two of these senses are based on chemicals - smellof cigarette smoke that is widely accepted by the
and taste. The senses of smell and taste allow us tonon-smoking population: Cigarettes stink!
experience the world around us through tiny chemicalThe smells of cigarette tobacco may be an
properties in the air. This is especially true of cigaretteaphrodisiac for the ever-decreasing smoking population
smoke. When a cigarette is consumed, tiny particlesof the world, but for the enormous group of
are released into the air, and these chemicals don'tnon-smokers, there is nothing worse than that awful
disappear as soon as the smoke lifts. In fact, they cansmell. The odor of cigarettes has the ability to
linger for days. Moreover, the sense of smell plays apenetrate the clothes, the hair, the carpet and the
vital role in our brain's memory.drapes. It is not a loyal smell, clinging to the smoker
This can be very problematic for the smokeralone, but extends its foul properties to every living and
attempting to quit. Just think, you're going along good,non-living thing in the vicinity.
sticking to your plan and avoiding all the triggers thatIt's a smell that doesn't go away very easily, but rather
used to send you running for a cigarette, and poof,lingers and continues to pollute for days on end. And
someone lights up and all the memories come floodingbreath? You've heard, I'm sure, the expression "kissing
back like a tidal wave.an ashtray?" Well, it's not just an expression. It's a
Many smokers claim to love the smell of cigarettereality that every wife, husband, girlfriend and boyfriend
smoke. They love the way the tobacco smells andof a non-smoker lives every day.
they love the way it makes them feel. Just beingThe enjoyment a smoker feels in the presence of
around the smell of smoke makes them feel more atsmoke is directly offset by the abhorrence felt by
ease. But when you are trying to kick the nastynon-smokers. It's an objectionable smell that people will
addiction of smoking, being subjected to the smells cango to all lengths to avoid. So before you succumb to
prove very costly. Many people attempting to quitthe old memories invoked by tobacco smoke, think for
report that the smell of others smoking is a powerfula bit about those around you. Is it really fair to subject
trigger for their own habit.them to something they so totally detest?
While the research is conflicted regarding the