Interdigestive gastrointestinal motility and secretion of gastric acid and pancreatic enzymes in young cigarette smokers.

The basal (interdigestive) gastrointestinal motor activity and the interdigestive gastric acid and pancreatic amylase secretion were determined in 10 young smokers (mean age 23 years) and 7 nonsmokers (mean age 26 years). There was no significant difference in the length of the interdigestive motor complex between smokers and nonsmokers, but the speed of transmission of the activity front (phase III) in the upper intestine was significantly (p less than 0.05) greater in smokers than in nonsmokers. No significant overall changes in the interdigestive gastric acid and pancreatic amylase outputs were observed between the two groups studied.