Would Life Threatening Drug Abuse Produce a Smell of “death” Even While Still Alive?

Question by Mr Haun: Would life threatening drug abuse produce a smell of “death” even while still alive?
A long time ago I had a friend in his 20s who was attractive and young, but who was badly hooked on cocaine and would binge on it almost daily… it ravaged his mind and behavior and in the latter stages of addiction before he quit, i would go over to his place and it smelled like a sweet pungeant odor of…. death… and he was reporting serious heart issues developing and near death experiences that prompted him to stop and he never did cocaine again… and the smell eventually went away. Could this be an indication of his body having been in preparation to shut down and die had he kept doing drugs?

Best answer:

Answer by haley b
No, I don’t think so. There is no way to determine and separate both the smell and the effects of the drugs. Instead it probably had something to do with his actions, for example cleaning less.