Introduction: Smoking is an important preventable cause of mortality worldwide. The prevalence of pulmonary and cardiovascular disease, cataracts and some cancers is higher in smokers than in non smokers. About 1.3 billion people are regular smokers worldwide and every day 8,000 to 10,000 young people start to smoke, risking rapid addiction to nicotine. The aim of this study was to examine haematological changes associated with smoking to create awareness in public and plan launching anti-smoking campaigns.

Materials and Methods: A total of 80 healthy volunteer  male subjects out of which 40 smokers and 40 non- smokers; The smokers with the history of smoking for at least five years having age’s between 20-60 years, coming to SGT Medical College .A careful history and medical examination was done. The subjects practicing vigorous exercise and those working in such industries or in atmosphere where the chance of dust and fumes present were excluded from the study. All the selected subjects fulfilled the criteria of no respiratory tract infection during previous 3 months and were quite healthy at the time of test. They were asked about the number of cigarettes smoked per day and duration. After taking sample, Hemoglobin (Hb), Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC),WBC count, RBC count and platelet count levels were determined by Sysmex XN-550  blood cell counter.

Results: The highest  percentage of smokers on basis of number of cigarettes smoked per day were 45% (1-5 cigarettes/day) and showed a significant increased in Hb, PCV, MCV ,MCHC and blood cell counts in smokers as compared to non smokers but no significance difference related to number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Conclusion: The present study confirms the results from previous studies, which also highlighted the destructive and oxidative effects of cigarette smoke and its harmful effects on smokers and non- smokers alike.

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Dr Komal Yadav

Department of Pathology, SGT University, Gurugram India

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