Cigarette smoking and tuberculin skin test conversion among incarcerated adults.

Abstract

This suggests that the cumulative effects related to the duration of smoking may be more important than the number of cigarettes smoked with regard to tuberculin skin test conversion. This is consistent with the understanding that long-term exposure to cigarette smoking has an adverse effect on the lung's defense mechanisms, namely mucociliary clearance of potential pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis.