Two-thirds of us would, according to a new survey which labels halitosis as “the UK’s deadliest taboo.”

Men are apparently more honest than women when it comes to the delicate subject of rotten breath.

Over a third of British men (34%) would quite happily let their friends know about their oral odours, compared to just under a quarter of women.

The survey, from toothpaste firm Colgate, found bad breath is our biggest turn off when it comes to sex. Most said it would put them off the opposite sex – more than other afflictions such as bad skin, baldness in men or too much make up on women.

Telling the family is no easier. Informing a partner their breath smells would be stressful, with more than a tenth of people surveyed (12%) saying they would find it too hard.

Psychiatrist Dr. Salah Fadl said: “People find it very difficult to tell someone they know that they have bad breath because nobody wants to be perceived as repulsive. We want to be presentable and to think that we look good and smell good – which is impossible if we know we have bad breath.

“It can have a very detrimental effect on self-confidence as it can cause social embarrassment. In short, if we have bad breath, we don’t feel good about ourselves and we don’t feel attractive to the opposite sex.”

Photo credit: Creative Commons