Cigarette smoking behavior in conjoined twins.

A study of cigarette smoking was undertaken in a pair of craniopagus twins to determine how a transfer of products of smoking is occurring between the twins. Alternately and independently, one twin smoked a nicotine-free cigarette, then the second twin smoked a nicotine-containing cigarette. The procedure enabled the investigators to study the migration of nicotine and carbon monoxide from one twin to the other. Salivary determination provided a noninvasive method of measuring cross circulation in conjoined twins. Measurements of salivary nicotine, however, indicated that, although the nicotine levels rose following smoking, there was relatively little transfer from one twin to the other through the circulation.