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Smokers' Tongues Fail Taste Test

Date:
August 20, 2009
Source:
BioMed Central
Summary:
Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste.
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Smokers have fewer and flatter taste buds. A study of the tongues of 62 Greek soldiers, published in the open access journal BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, has demonstrated how cigarettes deaden the ability to taste.

Pavlidis Pavlos led a team of researchers from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki who used electrical stimulation to test the taste threshold of the soldiers and endoscopes to measure the number and shape of a kind of taste bud called fungiform papillae. He said: "Statistically important differences between the taste thresholds of smokers and non-smokers were detected. Differences concerning the shape and the vascularisation of fungiform papillae were also observed."

By applying electrical current to the tongue, a unique metallic taste can be generated. Measuring how much current is required before a person perceives this sensation allows determination of their taste sensitivity. The 28 smokers in the study group scored worse than the 34 non-smokers. Upon close examination with a contact endoscope, the smoker's tongues had flatter fungiform papillae, with a reduced blood supply.

Pavlos concludes: "Nicotine may cause functional and morphological alterations of papillae, at least in young adults."


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Materials provided by BioMed Central. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Pavlos Pavlidis, Vasilios Nikolaidis, Antonia Anogeianaki, Dimitrios Koutsonikolas, Georgios Kekes and George Anogiannakis. Evaluation of young smokers and non-smokers with electrogustometry and contact endoscopy. BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders, 2009; (in press) [abstract]

Cite This Page:

BioMed Central. "Smokers' Tongues Fail Taste Test." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 August 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819234654.htm>.
BioMed Central. (2009, August 20). Smokers' Tongues Fail Taste Test. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 15, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819234654.htm
BioMed Central. "Smokers' Tongues Fail Taste Test." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819234654.htm (accessed October 15, 2024).

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