How would you tell a date that she (or he) has bad breath?

[John DiFool]

Companion thread. I recall when I was a teen that a friend of the girl I was truly interested in kept trying to hit on me and such, but when we did (briefly) kiss I was turned off by her breath (she was otherwise a perfectly attractive, feminine and perfumed young woman, but I wasn't about to break the heart of the girl I truly loved in any event), and as such would always pull away from the kiss. I never told her, and she soon hooked up with another poor sap guy who apparently didn't care.

[Spoke]

Offer them a mint?

[Kevbo]

Offer them some gum. When they say "no thanks," tell them they really need some gum.

[Rachellelogram]

On a first date? I wouldn't say anything and I wouldn't call back.
On a third date? I wouldn't say anything, but I wouldn't let them try to kiss me again.
Past that, if it's just a one-off thing then I'd say "Your breath stinks, hon, have some gum." If it's a chronic thing, that's a dealbreaker. I can't kiss someone who smells or tastes bad on a regular basis. ecch!

[Jack Batty]

"Anyone can have bad breath Marge, but you could knock a buzzard off a shit wagon."

- George Carlin

[Dogzilla]

Offer gum or a mint while taking one myself. If it's anything less than a stable relationship. With several different boyfriends, I've said, "Babe, could you please go brush your teeth and then come back and lay some sugar on me?" But that was after a while, pretty much after the farting barrier has been broken.