Smoking
Smoking is a major cause of loss in sensitivity of taste buds. There are certain chemicals present in cigarettes that negatively change the receptors present in taste buds. These chemicals include carcinogens [8] and alkaloids. A study was done in 2017 and it was discovered that presence of nicotine in the body system led to decrease the sensitivity of taste buds. This study also showed that people that quit smoking begin to see improvement in their taste buds after two to three weeks. Smoking is also responsible for some respiratory infections that cause dry mouth.