Smoking in Relation to Physical Complaints

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Abstract
A study has been made of physical complaints in relation to smoking habits in 18,697 men and 24,371 women over the age of 30. The information was obtained by questonnaire. Many different complaints were found to be associated with smoking habits. These include cough, hoarseness, shortness of breath, pain or discomfort in chest, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, pain in stomach, pain or discomfort in lower abdomen, diarrhea, loss of weight, easy fatigue, insomnia, and several other complaints. Some of these complaints showed a high degree of association with smoking (notably, coughing, shortness of breath, and loss of appetite) while others (including some not listed above) showed only a relatively small degree of association with smoking. Cigarette smoking showed a far higher degree of association with physical complaints than did cigar or pipe smoking. The frequency of physical complaints increased with amount of cigarette smoking. Coughing was reported less frequently by people who smoke cigarettes with a low tar and nicotine content than by people who smoke cigarettes with a high tar and nicotine content. It is suggested that smoking produces coughing, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, and certain other complaints in susceptible individuals. It is also suggested that these complaints sometimes have the effect of inducing individuals to smoke less, inhale less, switch to low nicotine cigarettes, or give up smoking. Among women between the ages of 30 and 49, irregularity of menstruation was reported somewhat more frequently by smokers than by nonsmokers. Nervous tension was found to be associated with smoking. It may be that nervous tension increases the tendency to smoke heavily, but it may also be that smoking increases nervous tension in some individuals. (Both could be true).