Table 3

Effect of smoking on bacterial growth on throat swab culture

Organism

Control (Non-smoker) n = 20

Smoker

Grade I 10–15 sticks/d n = 20

Grade II 16–20 sticks/d n = 30

Grade III 21+ sticks/d n = 30

Streptococcus β hemolytica

2.8

70.5

71.4

72.5

Aerobacter aerogenes

12.2

25.4

26.7

27.0

No growth

85.0

4.1

1.9

1.0

Values are percentages. P < .001 for all values of smokers compared with the control.

Bashar and Mitra Nutrition Journal 2004 3:18   doi:10.1186/1475-2891-3-18