Japanese teens spend a lot of time eating sukiyaki, smoking cigarettes, and drinking cocktails. As a result, they’re sometimes a bit, er, foulmouthed. Three new products claim to fight dragon breath. My pals and I put them to the test.
1) Japan Tobacco’s D-Spec Cigarettes
JT spent six years identifying the 4,000 distinct odors in tobacco smoke and devising a method to reduce the stench. D-spec’s extra-strength paper wrappers and sweet-scented additives produce a low-smoke cig with hints of peach.
2) Tanita’s Breath Checker
This pocket-size device rates breath odor on a scale of 0 to 5 by measuring the degree of volatile sulfur compounds on one’s exhale. Be warned: Breath Checker doesn’t distinguish between good and bad breath - a strong toothpaste smell may set off a false positive.
3) Zielonka’s Smellkiller Zilopop
This faux confection is shaped like a regular old sucker, and you use it the same way. Your licks activate zilopop’s stink-stopping science: It’s made of high-grade stainless steel, which reacts to saliva, serving as a catalyst to separate and-oxidize the molecules that cause odor.
- Lisa Katayama
credit Gabriela Hasbun
How’s my halitosis? The author (right) and her posse do quality control.
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