Effect of Smoking on the Urinary Output of Epinephrine and Norepinephrine in Man

¹ From the Department of Pharmacology, West Virginia University Medical School, Morgantown, West Virginia

Urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine output was determined fluorometrically in 11 young adult males during a 2-hour control period in which they refrained from smoking, followed by a 2-hour period in which they smoked an average of 6.4 standard cigarettes. Epinephrine output increased from a control value of 8.2 ± 1.4 nonograms per minute (1 ng = 0.001 µg) to 10.1 ± 1.6 ng/min. The increase of 1.9 ± 0.43 ng/min. is significant, P = 0.001. The norepinephrine output showed a decrease of 2.0 ± 1.5 ng/min. from the control value of 31.8 ± 3.3 ng/min. The above experiment was repeated on a group of nine subjects and epinephrine output estimated by both fluorometry and bioassay, using the rat uterus as the test object. By bioassay the control value of 7.8 ± 1.5 ng/min. increased 3.7 ± 0.96 ng/min.; by fluorometry the control value of 10.3 ± 2.0 ng/min. increased 5.4 ± 1.4 ng/min. Both increases are significant. Again there was no significant change in norepinephrine output. When the epinephrine and norepinephrine output of 17 nonsmokers was compared to that of 20 smokers there was no significant difference in the output of epinephrine or norepinephrine. Moderately heavy smoking increased the epinephrine output of young adult males without affecting the output of norepinephrine. This epinephrine mobilization is at least partially responsible for the several sympathomimetic effects of smoking. The fact that the epinephrine and norepinephrine output of a group of smokers did not differ from that of a group of nonsmokers indicates that among individuals there are unknown factors which affect epinephrine output more than does smoking.

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