[Blood pressure and smoking habits of 14-16-year-old students in Basel]

In a representative sample of Basle eight grade students (14-16 years) blood pressure measurements were correlated with smoking habits. Mean pressure was 122 68 mm Hg for 358 boys and 118/68 mm Hg for 387 girls (p 0,005). 40 of the boys (11%) and 56 of the girls (14%) reported themselves as smoking one or more cigarettes daily. They were found to have lower systolic and diastolic pressure values than non-smokers. These results confirm findings in adults, where smoking was reported to have an inhibiting effect on blood pressure rise in the case of weight gain.