The effect of nicotine on the delay of gastric emptying

Abstract

The effect of cigarette smoking and its active component, nicotine, on the gastric emptying of solid food was assessed in a randomized double-blind crossover design. Ten regular smokers were studied after a 6 h fast and least 18 h after their last cigarette. Subjects smoked a total of three high (1.91 mg) or low (0.17 mg) nicotine cigarettes, before and after a technetium-labelled solid meal and were scanned by gamma camera periodically over a 2-h period. All calculations of gastric emptying revealed a significant delay after smoking high versus low nicotine cigarettes in: mean per cent isotope remaining in the stomach at each measurement point from 90-120 min; amount of meal remaining in the stomach at 2 h; and mean time at which 50% of the meal had emptied (T1/2). Delay in gastric emptying was significantly correlated with increase in serum nicotine concentration on the high nicotine day.