Impact of cigarette smoking on pulmonary function in non-allergic subjects.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smokers have been shown to have a greater tendency to develop respiratory allergies than non-smokers. Since the early obstructive airway changes seen in respiratory allergy and smoking are similar, the early airway changes seen in populations of young smokers might be attributed to the fact that a proportion of smokers are allergic. We therefore studied the effects of smoking on non-allergic individuals. METHODS: Forced …