Perception of environmental tobacco smoke odors: An olfactory and visual response

Odor perception of approximately 200 subjects was measured to determine whether visual contact with an odor source affects sensory responses and to estimate the magnitude of such an effect. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) odors were generated in a chamber either by a smoke machine or by an investigator who smoked. Several levels of odor intensity were generated. Odor intensity, odor hedonics and odor characters were the parameters measured before and after visual contact with the odor source. Visual contact increased the perceived odor intensity, the hedonic nature of the odor changed directionally toward unpleasant and the number of subjects perceiving tobacco odor increased. The change caused by visual contact led to differences that were statistically significant.