Cigarette smoking and platelet aggregation.

The influence of cigarette smoking on platelet aggregation was studied in habitual and non-habitual smokers. The results indicate that habitual smokers have a greater tendency to platelet aggregation than do non-habitual smokers. Acute effects of cigarette smoking were, however, not significant. The nucleotide content and the serotonin content of the platelets were analyzed. The adenosine nucleotide and serotonin contents were similar in smokers and non-smokers in the control state and neither showed significant changes on cigarette smoking. There were significant correlations between the control concentrations of the various nucleotides in both groups and there were even higher correlations after smoking. Platelet aggregation bore no demonstrable relationship to the nucleotide or serotonin contents of the platelet. We conclude that the long-term effect of smoking is probably more important than the acute effect.