Abstract
It is said that the peptic ulcer is of a high incidence among smokers, is protracted in patients who fail to quit smoking, and often recurs in those who continue to smoke when the ulcer has been cured.
This study was made to determine the effect of smoking on the human stomach in terms of both motor and secretory functions, and also on the lower esophageal sphincter functionally related to the esophagogastric junction.
Smoking produced a 20-80 per cent reduction in the contraction pressure of the antral portion, and a marked delay in gastric emptying in almost all cases. Gastric secretion was inhibited in about half the cases. while there was a 15-60 per cent reduction in the lower esophageal sphincter pressure in almost all cases. No correlation was established, however, between smoking and regurgitation of bile into the stomach which may be involved in the pathogenesis of the peptic ulcer.
This study suggests that smoking inhibits the gastric function in man, although no conclusion can be drawn as to the adverse effect of smoking in promoting the pathogenesis, aggravation and recurrence of the peptic ulcer.
