Effect of short-term cigarette smoking on simple tests of ventilatory capacity in medical students.

A study of the effect of short-term cigarette smoking on 2 Spirometric indicators of ventilatory function (FEV1 and FVC) was carried out in a group of 104 healthy students (68 men and 36 women). Male smokers had significantly lower values of ventilatory capacity than male nonsmokers when the measured values of FEV1 and FVC were adjusted to a standard age of 23 years and a standard height of 175 cm. The prevalence of chronic respiratory symptoms was significantly higher in male smokers than in male nonsmokers (P 0.05). Changes in FEV1 and FVC in the study did not provide conclusive evidence of significant variations in ventilatory capacity during the day.