THE INFLUENCE OF SMOKING AND OF ORAL AND TRANSDERMAL NICOTINE ON BLOOD-PRESSURE, AND HEMATOLOGY AND COAGULATION INDEXES

Nicotine is helpful in stopping smoking but in influence on cardiovasc ular risk factors is incomplete. Our aim was to determine its effect o n blood pressure, routine haematology indices, and coagulation indices relevant to thrombosis. Eighteen subjects were seen whilst smoking (c otinine levels 1119 +/- 414 ng/ml), again after stopping smoking but w hile using nicotine chewing gum and/or skin patches (392 +/- 198 ng/ml ), and again when not using nicotine (cotinine undetectable). There we re no significant changes in blood pressures, platelet count, mean pla telet volume, viscosity or anti-thrombin III. However. white blood cel l. count (p = 0.003), lymphocyte count (p = 0.016), red blood cell cou nt (p = 0.02), haemoglobin (p < 0.001), fibrinogen (p < 0.001) and von Willebrand factor (p = 0.001) all fell between the first and second s amples (when still using nicotine) but not between the second and thir d samples (when off nicotine). Oral and/or transdermal nicotine does n ot influence blood pressure or the haematology and coagulation indices we have measured.