[watwut]

I never heard about that and definitely did not noticed anything like that when I stopped smoking.

[boomboomsubban]

How long and heavy you smoked probably matters, and if you aren't expecting it you may not notice your sense of smell and taste slowly getting sharper over a few months.

Personally, quitting smoking led me to eat far less fast food, as I noticed how terrible much of it tasted.

[watwut]

Parent claimed this: Regaining sense of smell is one of the major changes that ex-smokers notice after quitting.

Slow change over course of moths that you don't notice unless you know about it is hardly that.

[boomboomsubban]

Major changes that happen gradually are incredibly hard to notice if you aren't expecting them, and even if you did notice you might just think it's because you got over a cold or spring is here or similar.

[watwut]

"ajor changes that ex-smokers notice after quitting" is something completely different then "Major changes [...] incredibly hard to notice".

If it is hard to notice, then it can't be major thing ex-smokers notice.

[boomboomsubban]

Or many ex-smokers were expecting them so did notice the change. I can't tell if you just think the poster should have qualified that not every smoker notices it or if you think it doesn't exist because you didn't notice it.

[watwut]

No I think the parent is making up "plenty smokers" and "commonly known" to describe something that exists only in minority of cases.