In case that wasn’t rhetorical, AFAIK smoking is known to dull one’s sense of taste. I would imagine smokers to be less picky eaters and drinkers for this reason as well.

It surely is, but I believe it has less to do with sense of taste. There's a very weird, intangible correlation between smoking (and afaik, drinking) and favouring salty food. Not as in, a little bit saltier just to taste it, but actually salty. There's a few studies around with inconclusive results but they usually always reach the conclusion that salt/sodium intake is dramatically higher in smokers and/or drinkers, but no further conclusions as to which other factors come into play besides nicotine reducing the ion current mediated by the epithelial sodium channel. Although, admittedly, I didn't look further since because I stopped smoking anyway.