After all, I start each day with a strong cup of black coffee, to help me wake up and focus. Would smelling salts - ammonia inhalants in capsule form - be like that, only more intense? Would it ...

Henry To'oTo'o couldn't find the plastic bag he was keeping in his locker. The Houston Texans' linebacker promised a reporter smelling salts, but the bag of ammonia he stored in his locker was gone.

During training camp, the NFL sent a memo to teams prohibiting them from providing smelling salts to players, citing a player-safety issue. The league, though, couldn’t ban ammonia packets without ...

The NFL instituted a smelling salts ban in August, which 49ers star tight end George Kittle criticized during an NFL Network interview during training camp when he joked: “I considered retirement. We ...

Football leans on tradition, providing convenient cover for the NFL's lenient stance on smelling salts, ammonia crystals that players believe enhance performance when inhaled. Does the olfactory ...

Smelling salts, usually ammonium carbonate, are often used by athletes to sharpen focus or restore consciousness. We’ve seen an uptick in their use during broadcasts since 49ers star George Kittle ...

I confess: After reading the Chronicle's compelling examination into the use of smelling salts in football, by my colleagues Eric Branch and Noah Furtado, I thought, "Why not give them a try?" After ...