Method of Study To determine the effect of smoking on the urinary exeretion of catecholamines, 11 normal subjects were maintained in a fasting and resting state for a 6-hour period. During the first 3 hours all urine output was collected and designated as the control sample. During the second 3 hours each subject smoked three cigarettes per hour and all uriine was collected for the smoking sample. The samples were analyzed for free and total (free plus conjugated) catecholamines by the method of Oesterling and Tse.3 This method is based on the extraction of catecholamines from urine by means of a cation-exchange resin and subsequent measurenment of the ultraviolet absorption of the bisulfite derivative of the aminochromes that are formed on oxidation of eatecholamines. Results are given in mierograms of catecholainines per hour expressed as norepinephrine equivalents. At the start of the smoking period, two cigarettes were smoked in a 10-minute period and serum FEA levels4' 5 were determined before and inliediately after this interval and 10, 20, and 40 minutes later.In the experiments in which the effeet of sympathetic ganglionic blockade on the FFA response to smoking was studied, the following procedure was used.

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The effect of cigarette smoking on serum free fatty acids (FFA) was studied in human subjects. After smoking two cigarettes there was an average maximal elevation in FFA of 351 µEq./L. This usually occurred 10 minutes after smoking and, in most instances, there was still some elevation 20 and 40 minutes after smoking. There was essentially no effect on serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. In subjects who "chain-smoked" six cigarettes, all showed a rise in FFA during a 60-minute period, one showing a three-fold elevation. The effect of intravenous nicotine on serum FFA was studied in dogs. In 13 of 15 observations there was a rise in FFA. The mean maximal elevation of 166 µEq./L. occurred after 10 minutes of nicotine infusion. These effects are probably due to sympathetic and adrenal stimulation by nicotine. This results in a rise in circulating catecholamines which rapidly effect a mobilization of FFA from the fat stores in the body.

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