I too am smelling smoke. This is day 4. I went to my doc today and he put me on an antibiotic for sinus even though I have no apparent signs of a sinus infection. He was torn between sending me for a brain scan (which is a nightmare with the insurance co.) or to an ENT. I'm going to see the ENT on Thursday. I'm going to print all of your comments and take them with me. Dear god let's hope I get a doctor that has seen this and can cure us all. It's either a phantom smoke smell or else we are all so brilliant that our brains are starting to literally smoke! (Teehee, I know...that's not funny)

I have been smelling it for quite some time. Sometimes I do not even want to breathe in fully it is so strong. I can't remember when it started even, but I think it was right after my shoulder surgery approximately a year ago. And I was on heavy narcotics for 2 weeks after and then sleeping pills for a month. We had a heavy smoker in the apt next door also & we could sometimes smell his smoke... but that was once in a while & the whole few years we lived there. We have moved months ago & I still smell smoke.

If someone has been following this thead real close, how about maybe a point form list of what this could be. Looks to me like it is still up in the air. I can't stand this reak of smoke. No one smoke around us & neither my wife nor I smoke..... and she never smells it...

What gives? Maybe I should see my doctor?

Thanx for any ongoing help....

JD

I have experienced the smell for a few weeks. It is annoying. I am 54 years old and have no health issues. I have been vegan for almost ten years (no meat or dairy products). I take no medications. It is very interesting to see so many with this condition and no real answers. I also work in the health care industry, radiology, and nobody has heard of this thing.

Amazing! I thought it was just me. I had polyps removed from my R sinus about 8 years ago and from my left about 20 years ago. Before the second operation, the doc said I might lose some sense of smell. I did. But now for about 6 months or so I continually smell campfire smoke or good BBQ. I like BBQ but enough is enough. And my nasal passages are irritated as if I have been out in the smoke. My eyes are OK, however. I'd love to figure this out. I have been thinking that I must have some sort of fungus growing in my nose or a tumor or something. I'd love to find out what it is.

You know I'm having a problem with this to be looking for answers on New Years Eve! For months I've been smelling smoke and burnt coffee on and off.. sometimes it gets so strong I have the feeling that I'm choking on it, which is ridiculous to be choking on something that isn't even there! I'm otherwise a reasonably normal person, aside from the fact that I teach Midldle School - and joking aside, this is beginning to get in the way because some days I'm positively nauseus from it. I have to add that I, too, suffer from allergies and sinus troubles, but I also take 200 mgs daily of topamax for migraine prevention, and I'm noticing as I research this that the medication seems to be a common link for phantosmia, although it is NOT listed as a side effect by the drug company. There are a couple of other unusual side effects of this drug, however, that other people have agreed with me about, that are also not listed by the company, so I would not rule this out as being a possible cause of the 'smell'.

Wow. It was such a relief to find that there was a response to my google of "abnormal smelling cigarettes". I have been experiencing this for months now. I am grateful for everyone sharing their experiences and suggestions. I am going to go through this board carefully.
At first it started out as a smell at work. It smelled as though someone's clothing might have smoke on them. I asked everyone around me and noone said they smelled smoke, including one woman who told me if there were any smokers in the room, she would know.
I have never been particularly affected by cigarette smoke. Always willing to sit in the "smoking" section of a restaurant if it cut my wait down.
I constantly ask people around me "Do you smell smoke?" Mostly the answer is no. Following up on someone's post, I went to my husband and asked him to smell my exhalation from my nose. He is a very skeptical man, so imagine my surprise when he asked me to do it twice. He says he smells something faint. Maybe some fungal or bacterial infection which puts out this odor and hence the smell?
I am almost delighted to read all these posts because the first thought I had was at worst a brain tumor and at best olfactory nerve damage. I hate to get delight at other people's discomfort, but it makes me feel not so crazy OR ready to die from a brain tumor.
Anyway, thanks for posting all this information. Helps to know I am not alone.

I did a search on Google because I was concerned about this weird odor I have been smelling over the past few weeks.

A few weeks ago I began smelling stale cigarette smoke. Like a heavy smoker had just walked past me or I was wearing a piece of clothing that smelled like stale smoke.

At first I didn't say anything to anyone as I thought I was crazy. But now I see others have experienced the same thing...it has gotten worse over the past couple of days. I have never had a sinus infection and to my knowledge, I currently don't have one. I do not have migraines or epilepsy. I am wondering if I should go see a doctor

Gosh, so many people with this problem - me too!! I had it a couple of years ago briefly. I have recently had a viral chest infection that lasted 2 months and then this smell of smoke started. I am seeing my GP on Friday and if he sheds any more light on what it is I will post he opinion here. In the meantime does anyone have anything new?

I have been having the same problem for a couple of years. When it first started I thought that it was someone walking down the road past my house smoking and the smell was coming in the windows. But when winter came and the smell was lasting longer and longer when it hit I knew that it wasn't anyone smoking it was just me. My husband and son said that they couldn't smell anything and I was nuts. It was getting so bad that it would last for weeks at a time. So I started to try and find a way to over ride the smell but nothing worked, I tryed putting vinegar on cotton balls and putting them in my nose. But I still smelled the smoke. Then I tryed things that smelled good but that didn't work either. I needed a way to wash out my nose so I found this sinus rinse and tryed that it only worked for a few minutes but at least it helped a little. Then I thought what is the smell is not in my nose but in my mouth so I tryed different mouth washes to see if it helped but none did. But I did finally find a way to stop the smell at least it worked for me so maybe it will help some of you. I gargled with Hydrogen Peroxide then used the nasal rinse and the smell goes away. Now as soon as I get a whiff of cig smoke I use both of these and the smell goes away. If I don't use it right away it takes a little longer for it to work and I have to do it a couple of times but for me it does work. I hope it works for some of you also because there is nothing worse than smelling cig smoke. Good luck

I started smelling smoke about 2 weeks ago. I went and saw my Doctor and he gave me veramyst only after telling me how weird it was. I noticed the after spraying it the smell intensified by 10. I looked up the side effects of this nose spray only to find out that it can cause a sinus fungal infection. What the h...!!! That makes no sense. So apparently there is no cure for a sinus fungal infection because Doctors can't even see it to diagnose it....and if you happen to have a Doctor that believe's you or has heard of this before they prescribe Lamasil pills.

My smoke smell has pretty much gone away and this is what i've done...

I bought a netti pot and I use it every morning in the shower with the water as hot as I can stand it in my nose. Immediately after that I put Listerine in my mouth (in the shouwer) and swish/gargle for about a minute. I also read someone say that she was low on Vitamin D and that cured her, so I started taking those along with B-12 right away. The last couple of days i've noticed that the smell is gone and I now have this awful taste in my mouth and after I drink my morning coffee I start to cough up stuff. Sorry to gross you out. But the strange thing is that I don't feel congested so i'm assuming that this smell/taste is from an infection that is way up high and it's possible that it's loosening up with the hot saline water. Along with tossing out the nose spray. I have also noticed that after using Mr. Clean the smell came back. I'm chucking my cleaning products too. I'm praying for everyone who is suffering with this. And I hope this helps someone out there.

My GP gave me antibitotics a two week course and he said it isn't that unusual for people with a sinis infection to have a strange smell up their nose, he said a lot of people complain they have a 'rubber'smell?.... anywat I am using a sinus wash and a nasal spray and so far so good, I also tried the hydrogen peroxide gargle with good affect. How do you use a Neti pot?

After finding this thread and reading up on my phantom ashtray smells I went to my doctor. He prescribed 10 days of mega antibiotics and said if that doesn't work he wants me to go to the Mayo clinic to check for tumors. I'm on the 5th day of the antibiotics, and the horrible smell is as bad as ever.

Yes but he won't necessarily mean THOSE kind of tumours. There are all sorts of benign tumours (ie not dangerous) and your nose and sinus areas can have them, too.

You might just have a blocked sinus.

And Antibiotics often don't appear to work until you have taken the last pill!

Hi. I took a two week course and it was only on the last day or so that my symptoms disappeared so hang in there! I have been asking around and a friend of mine also had a strange smell of tar. She was given antibiotics and told she had a sinus infection - cleared up. It is much more common than I thought and it is scary! I used a nasal spray in conjunction with my antibiotics. You can buy them over the counter mine is called Flixonase allergy (I live in the UK) and as I said so far so good. Be patient and give them time.

What in the world is going on with this. I am smelling smoke too. I smell it everywhere so I know it isn't just my house. Apparently it doesn't matter if you are 40 and fit or old and falling apart. I am 65 and have been smelling this for about six months. Also have headaches that I have never had before and took two rounds of antibiotics for a sinus infection. A CT scan shows mild inflammation in the sinus. This is annoying. The only solace I have is knowing I am not the only one.

Hi All,
Yes, I too smell cigarette smoke at times and am so glad I decided to Google it. 48, good health, had CT and MRI for tinnitus, nothing there, except my right septum is deviated. Right now I have constant post nasal drip, and "full ear" feeling, but no sinus infection or infection of any kind detected. I'm going to try the Neti Pot gig and will let you know. After reading the entire collection of entries, I'm leaning more toward fungus or something in the nasal cavity. I'll let you know. Before I Googled this, I just laughed to myself that I would never find anything! Jokes on me!

Interesting, kathyv - I have the same symptoms as you, but I don't smell cigarettes any more. I did, for several years after I gave up smoking - I used to think there must be pockets of old smoke stuck somewhere in my sinuses! I use Nasonex nightly and that stopped the smell but I still have the post nasal drip and the full ear. I also have a deviated right septum and am awating a surgeon's decision as to whether or not to operate on it as I am having repeated sinus infections

I also have this problem and also have a history of sinus problems, diagnosed over 19 years ago.

I am healthy, thin, good blood pressure and only 29 years old. I do not take any prescription medications. No one in my home smokes. I just thought I would google the cigarette smell too, to see how to get rid of it; it is driving me nuts.

All that said, I am currently pregnant with my 4th child and in the dryest part of the year. I always have extra sinus problems when I'm pregnant and that is where I'm at now.

After reading many of the responses here, it seems to be connected to sinus issues. Anyone have this happening to them even though they are in a humid climate? It is dry dry dry here, and I know that for me, that leads to all sorts of problems, including frequent nosebleeds.

Interesting. Now I won't be so scared; I was also thinking brain tumour. *blush*

I think everyone has that thought at first, mcmummy!

I have very dry airways - even when I have a cold, it manifests as dry crust (yuck) and never moistness. I also have dry eye syndrome for which I have artificial tears (on prescription) and a very dry mouth. I believe there is something you can get to lubricate your nasal passages but I will need to research it.

Good luck with your pregnancy - 4, eh? You must have a busy household!

Thanks!

Yup, busy household for sure. I have 3 boys so far and the oldest is 5. LOL