SMOKING PULMONARY FUNCTION AND RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS IN A COLLEGE-AGE GROUP

Abstract

Students who smoked had a significantly greater frequency of cough, phlegm, breathlessness, wheezing, and chest involvement with colds than did a group of nonsmokers. All 5 students with hemoptysis and all 4 students with a history of peptic ulcer were smokers. Smoking in a college-age group was associated with functional changes in the lung that were compatible with what would be expected in the 1st stage of chronic nonspecific respiratory disease. Surprinsingly little smoking was necessary to induce these changes. A dose-response trend was demonstrated between lifetime packs smoked and decreased expiratory flow rates. The exact mechanism by which smoking produces these changes is not clear. An inverse correlation between frequency of respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function was evident.