FIG 3.

Cessation from smoking associates with a higher rate of S. aureus clearance during experimental inoculation studies. (A) Comparison of experimental S. aureus carriage duration between all subjects who were actively smoking and those who recently quit smoking. (B) Average expired-air carbon monoxide (CO) values for participants who reported smoking compared to those who reported cessation of cigarette smoking. (C) Pairwise comparison of experimental nasal S. aureus carriage duration for 8 participants (each represented by a unique symbol) who completed both study arms. Open symbols indicate participants who failed to clear S. aureus in one or both study arms. Solid symbols indicate participants who cleared experimentally inoculated S. aureus in one or both study arms. ns, not significant.