Warwick, 1989). However, olfaction also has a warning role in the ability to detect "off"
             foods, smoke or gas. Therefore food manufacturers should provide large, clearly visible
             "best-before-end" dates and elderly people should have smoke and gas detectors in their
             homes. The elderly account for nearly a quarter of deaths due to accidental gas poisonings
             (OPCS, 1991a), hardly surprising since the ability to detect mercaptans (odorants added to
             natural gas to aid its detection) deteriorates at the age of about 50 (the ability to detect
             rose odorants remains high even in the nineties: Gilbert & Wysocki, 1987).
             Somatosensory decrements have also been reported. The elderly are less sensitive to
             temperature and poorer at regulating their own temperature, increasing the risk of
             hypothermia and frostbite (Fox et al., 1983). People aged over 65 account for 83% of all
             deaths by hypothermia (OPCS, 1991a) with the social isolation of many old people
             compounding the problem (Rango, 1985). Therefore it is surprising that the government
             insists on imposing VAT on fuel. There is also an increase in the thresholds for pain (Ordy
             & Brizzee, 1975) and touch (Verriollo, 1980) which can cause discomfort by failing to shift
             position, especially when sleeping. Furthermore the older person will not be as aware of
             physical disorders so that simple problems progress to advanced stages of complication
             ...