Smoking has significant implications for the drug therapy of a wide variety of conditions. For certain drugs smokers need different doses or a different frequency of administration than nonsmokers. When patients stop or reduce cigarette consu mption their drug regimen may need adjustment. Nicotine and other tobacco constituents increase the rate at which the body metabolizes many drugs. For example, smokers have the same high level of an antigen in blood as patients with colon cancer.
Normal nonsmokers have less.
Smoking causes changes in blood levels of certain nutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins. Impairment of protein metabolism may be responsible for low birth rates in smoking mothers. Thirty percent of all smokers have tried to stop smoking at least once. No OTC substance has been proven safe and effective as a smoking deterrent. Lobeline and silver acetate have been proven safe but have not been proven to be effective.