Abstract
Background: Smoking has been established as a chief causative factor for cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory disorders, and oxidative stress stimulation. It is known that the total peripheral blood leukocyte count increases by cigarette smoking; however, its influence on platelet parameters is largely unknown. Early detection of thromboembolic diseases can be achieved by the potentially useful platelet indices. Enhanced activity is shown by platelets with increased volume when compared with platelets with smaller volume. Hence, mean platelet volume (MPV) can act as a indicator for platelet activity.

Aims and Objective: To study the impact of cigarette smoking on platelet parameters.

Materials and Methods: This crosssectional study included 50 healthy young male cigarette smokers and 50 healthy male nonsmokers in the age range of 18–50 years at SRM Medical College, Tamil Nadu, India, after approval by the institutional ethical committee. Subjects with acute illness and diabetes mellitus and those on antiplatelet drugs were excluded. History regarding current smoking status, number of cigarettes smoked per day, pack-years of smoking, and years since quitting was noted. Complete blood count including platelet indices such as platelet count, MPV, platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet large cell ratio (P-LCR), and plateletcrit (PCT) were determined. On the basis of their smoking characteristics, smokers were grouped as mild, moderate, and heavy.

Result: Compared with nonsmokers, smokers showed significantly high values of MPV, and PDW (P o 0.05). MPV, PDW, and P-LCR were found to be positively associated with intensity of smoking, pack-year, and duration of smoking.

Conclusion: The smokers showed higher MPV, PDW, and P-LCR, which might forecast possible high risk for developing thromboembolic disease in smokers.

Key words: Smokers, Platelet Count, Mean Platelet Volume