Dietary habits of smokers, people who never smoked, and exsmokers.

A large database on hospital patients with illnesses not related to tobacco or alcohol was used to investigate the dietary habits of males and females who never smoked, who were exsmokers, and who currently smoked. Smoking was positively related to meat consumption and negatively related to cereal consumption in males. Both male and female smokers consumed fewer vegetables and fruits but more alcohol and coffee than did people who never smoked. Exsmokers' diets were similar to those of people who never smoked. These results emphasize the importance of ruling out potential confounders or effect modifiers when studying the role of meat, milk, fruits, vegetables, cereal, coffee, or alcohol intake in the etiology of tobacco-related diseases.