[Women smoking in the Tunisian center: socio demographic characteristics and effects on functional respiratory parameters].

UNLABELLED: Objectives of this study were to describe sociodemographic characteristics of Tunisian woman smoker and to study her respiratory functional profile.

METHODS: all women answered for a questionnaire and benefited of a total physical plethysmography and of a carbon monoxide lung transfer measure (TLCO).

RESULTS: 101 smoking women were selected. These women consumed cigarettes (74 %), the snuff "neffa "(10 %) and the water pipe (15 %). A chronic bronchitis was present at 22 women. A proximal bronchial obstruction was found at 11 women who were consumer of the "neffa" and cigarettes. A lower airway obstruction was found in all women consumer of water pipe. The TLCO was low at "neffa" group of women.

CONCLUSION: woman smoking has a negative influence on pulmonary function which depends on sociocultural characteristics and on the history of smoking.