SMOKING AND ALCOHOLIC PANCREATITIS

Only a small minority of alcoholics develop clinical evidence of pancr eatitis. The reasons for this variation in individual susceptibility h ave not yet been defined. Recent studies have suggested that smoking m ay be a risk factor for the development of pancreatitis. However, ther e have been methodological problems with these studies regarding choic e of controls and assessment of tobacco consumption. The present study was designed to determine whether smoking is a risk factor for pancre atitis in alcoholics. Tobacco consumption in alcoholics with pancreati tis was compared to that of alcoholics without pancreatitis (controls) . Of 52 subjects with alcoholic pancreatitis, 86.5% were smokers compa red with 87.2% of 47 alcoholic controls. Both daily and lifetime tobac co consumption in subjects with pancreatitis were less than those of a lcoholic controls. Thus, there was no association between smoking and pancreatitis in this study. The previously described association betwe en smoking and pancreatitis may be related to the high prevalence of s moking among alcoholics.