Corncentration of Thiocyanate and Ionizable Iodine in Swaliva of Smokers and Nonsmokers

were analyzed for salivary thiocyanate and ionizable iodine concentrations. Smoking sta-tistically increased the amount of thiocyanate and decreased that of iodine in the saliva samples significantly. Male smokers had sig-nificantly more thiocyanate and less ionizable iodine in saliva than female smokers. Fischmann and Fischmann1 analyzed the thiocyanate content in the saliva of smokers and nonsmokers. They found a slight in-crease in favor of smokers, but the ranges observed overlapped to such an extent that no significant differences could be estab-lished. Armenio, LaForgia, and Buonsanto2 found that habitual smokers clearly had lhigher values of thiocyanate in saliva than moderate smokers. The effect was strongest in cigarette smokers compared to other smokers. Courant3 has observed significantly higher concentrations of thiocyanate in the saliva of smokers. The increase in the thio-cyanate concentration led to an increased ability of the lactoperoxidase-thiocyanate-HoO2 antibacterial system to inhibit the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus. This communication provides information about the concentration of thiocyanate and iodine ions in the saliva of 27 smokers and 92 non-smokers