See article. I am not in a field where my anosmia would typically affect my job prospects although I did have one experience where it possibly comprimised the safety of the people I was responsible for. I was a project leader for 11 youth in a small New Brunswick town. We lived in a house together, I drove the big van and I was supposed to enforce certain rules. Needless to say, teenagers are often caught using 'illegal substances' (you know I'm old when.....!) by the smell wafting through the grates or the smell on their breath. I couldn't tell them about my anosmia because I knew they would take advantage of it - those rotten youngsters! If I saw something I had to confront the issue but if I didn't see it, it didn't exist. It was a win-win situation.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09089/959259-114.stm
Loss of smell is nothing to sniff at
Monday, March 30, 2009
By Anya Sostek, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A nose is a nose is a nose.
Until it's not working anymore.
For David Agostino of South Fayette, a 2004 motorcycle accident cost him not only his sense of smell but his job.
A state appeals court ruled last week that Collier could legally dismiss him from the police force because without being able to smell, he might not be able to detect drugs, alcohol or hazardous materials.
The partial or complete absence of a sense of smell -- called anosmia -- is far less apparent or prominent than other sensory conditions such as deafness or blindness. But the condition, thought to affect millions of Americans, brings its own set of challenges.
It's unusual that anosmia would actually affect job prospects, said Beverly Cowart, director of the Monell-Jefferson Taste & Smell Clinic in Philadelphia, though she has heard of firefighters losing their jobs and once had a patient who could no longer continue as a truck driver transporting flammable materials. "Of course, people who are chefs have problems as well," she said.
The U.S. armed forces also lists anosmia as a "disqualifying medical condition."
Though Mr. Agostino lost his sense of smell through an accident involving head trauma, the condition is actually more common in women and more common after a cold, said Richard Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
"The typical patient is a 43-year-old woman who has a cold, gets over the cold and finds that food tastes like cardboard," he said.
A cold -- or more serious conditions like nasal polyps or chronic sinusitis -- can damage olfactory nerve cells, said Dr. Cowart. Sometimes the loss of smell is permanent and sometimes the nerves regenerate over a period of months or years.
In some cases, anosmia can also result from a congenital defect or a genetic condition, she said.
And like other senses, smell tends to diminish as people get older. According to one study, almost 25 percent of the population over age 50 had impaired olfactory perception, said Dr. Cowart. In 80- and 90-year-olds, that figure increased to 63 percent.
The most obvious daily effect of anosmia is its effect on food flavor perception, said Dr. Cowart. Though the taste buds on the tongue enable people to distinguish between sweet, salty, bitter and sour, more subtle taste differences depend on a sense of smell, she said.
"They can't tell the difference between strawberry, vanilla and chocolate," she said, because all three taste sweet. "Aromatic herbs are just lost."
Dane Summerville of Weirton, W.Va., lost his sense of smell as a 3-year-old after falling down a flight of stairs. He said that doctors have told him that he can only taste about 10 percent of what the average person can.
"I'll eat pork and think it's chicken," he said. "I like things that are strong. I love buttermilk -- I can live on buttermilk."
Mr. Summerville bases much of his appreciation for food on its texture, he said, noting that he'll gag on beef fat but inhales cottage cheese. "Your body gravitates toward something you can understand," he said.
It's not uncommon for people who lose their sense of smell to have swings in their weight, said Dr. Doty. Some find food so dull that they stop eating as much or as often, while others graze all day in hopes of regaining some of the pleasure associated with eating.
For some people, a sudden loss of the ability to smell can prove life-altering. "Some people literally become very despondent," said Dr. Doty, describing patients who no longer like to go hiking or go to the beach because they miss the smell of pine cones or the sea breeze.
On a more practical level, those without a sense of smell are vulnerable to a host of household dangers -- anything from being unaware of a fire to unknowingly ingesting spoiled milk.
"We just advise them to be very careful, especially if they live alone," said Dr. Cowart. In addition to the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that everyone should have in their homes, those with anosmia should also purchase natural gas detectors.
Mr. Summerville relies on his wife as a safety check as much as possible, asking her to stick around for a few minutes after he turns on the furnace to make sure that everything is venting properly.
Just recently, a motor in his refrigerator burned up without him knowing it, he said, and his wife often has to let him know that the garbage stinks and needs to be taken out. When he drives alone, he cracks the window even in winter to make sure that he's not breathing exhaust fumes.
"I don't taste the spice but my eyes are going to water and I'm still going to sweat," he said. "I'm going to choke in a building that's on fire just like you are. I just won't smell the smoke."
Anya Sostek can be reached at asostek@post-gazette.com