Effects of tobacco and non-tobacco cigarette smoking on endothelium and platelets

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Abstract
Endothelial damage and platelet activation may mediate increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in tobacco cigarette smokers. The acute effects of tobacco smoking on endothelium and platelets were studied to determine if they could be avoided by the substitution of non-tobacco cigarettes. Healthy nonsmokers (20) smoked 2 tobacco cigarettes in 20 min and on another occasion (separated by 1 wk) smoked 2 cigarettes made from wheat, cocoa and citrus plants. Mean endothelial cell counts from venous blood before and after smoking tobacco cigarettes were 2.3 and 4.8 and before and after smoking non-tobacco cigarettes counts were 2.5 and 3.0. Mean platelet aggregate ratios before and after smoking tobacco cigarettes were 0.80 and 0.65 and before and after smoking non-tobacco cigarettes they were 0.81 and 0.78. Much greater effects of tobacco smoking on endothelial cell counts and platelet aggregate ratios suggest the possibility that non-tobacco cigarette smoking may be less harmful to the cardiovascular system than is tobacco cigarette smoking.