Habitual smoking adversely affects the functions of the respiratory system. A Survey was conducted on 100 patients with respiratory diseases in the authors' institute regarding individuals' smoking habit and the following results were obtained.
1) Some respondents say they have difficulty abstaining from smoking though they perceive its unfavorable effects on their health. However, they feel a persuasive “recommendation to give up smoking” by the attending physicians a great help, and 2) earnest instruction and education for the patients are very important as many patients feel good after giving up smoking.
The relationship between habitual smoking and carbon monoxide (CO) concentration in the expired air was determined in 67 healthy volunteers with an ambulatory CO analyzer and the following results were obtained.
1) There was a significant difference in the CO concentrations in the expired air between non-smokers and smokers, 2) there were positive relationships between the CO concentrations in the expired air and daily numbers of cigarettes smoked and smoking index, 3) problems relating to passive smoking became evident, and 4) the ambulatory CO analyzer for the determination of the concentration of CO in the expired air is considered useful for the anti-smoking guidance and instructions.