Smoking and Gastro-oesophageal Reflux

Abstract

Gastro-oesophageal sphincter pressure and intra-oesophageal pH has been studied in 25 chronic smokers who complained of heartburn. Smoking a cigarette invariably caused a fall in sphincter pressure, and pH measurements showed an increased tendency for reflux to occur while smoking. When lower oesophageal pH was measured overnight one-third of all reflux episodes occurred while the patients were smoking, and reflux was seen during the smoking of two-thirds of all the cigarettes consumed. It is concluded that cigarette smoking is a common reversible cause of gastro-oesophageal reflux. © 1972, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.