The Effects of Smoking on the Peripheral Circulation

¹ Section of Physiology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation.
² Section of Medicine, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation.

Because a man in good health may feel that smoking is bad only for one who is ill, information concerning the effect of smoking on normal individuals is important. Therefore, a total of 425 smoking tests was carried out on 100 normal individuals.

The standard smoking test, as finally devised, used the skin temperatures as a measurement of blood flow together with measurements of blood pressure and pulse rate.

Our studies disclosed that on the normal person tolerance does not develop to tobacco so far as the vascular effects are concerned; the blood pressure and pulse rate increase and the skin temperature of the extremities decreases on smoking tobacco; nicotine appears to be the most important factor in producing the vascular effects, and alcohol does not nullify the effect of smoking.

The effects of smoking on patients with peripheral vascular disease as determined by the smoking test are similar to those of normal subjects and most likely are in association with the basal metabolic rate.

The evidence that smoking plays a role in the progression of peripheral vascular disease is no longer controversial.

We found no vasoconstriction as indicated by a decrease in the skin temperature of the toes during smoking when lumbar sympathectomy was complete, but smoking decreased the skin temperatures of the fingers.

Rehder and Roth found also that the levels of the fasting blood sugar and the epinephrinelike substances of the systemic blood did not rise appreciably with smoking.