Abstract

Introduction- Breath holding time (BHT) may be considered as one of the indicators of efficiency of breathing function. Tobacco smoking is highly prevalent throughout the world Smoking tobacco causes impairment of lung functions. Hence the present study was done to know the effect of smoking on BHT among healthy males. Methodology- Study was conducted on 47 apparently healthy male smokers and 47 healthy non smokers between the age group of 20-50yrs. The subject was instructed to hold his breath by pinching the nose with thumb and index finger as long as possible at the end of deep inspiration. The breaking point time was noted in seconds using a stop watch. Results - The mean breath holding time among smokers was 34.85 seconds, whereas the mean breath holding time was 46.61 seconds among non smokers. Conclusion - The present study showed that BHT was lower among smokers than non-smokers and the difference was statistically highly significant.

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