From among 4200 chemical compounds contained in the tobacco smoke, nicotine and carbon monoxide are responsible for changes in the heart-vessel system to the greatest extent. Additionally, other toxic compounds, including the carcinogenic ones, have a significant impact on the biological activity in the tissues of blood vessels. A particularly complex picture of the detrimental impact of the tobacco smoke is presented in case of pregnant women, fetuses and newborns. The aim of the research was to assess the impact of tobacco smoke on the permeability of capillaries in different tissues of rats (lungs, brain, liver, kidneys) and testing of the potentially protective impact of rutine (3-rutinozide of quercetin). The research on the permeability of capillaries has been carried out applying Evans blue. The animals were divided into 8 research groups: pregnant animals--"control", "rutine", "tobacco smoke", "rutine+tobacco smoke", and non-pregnant animals--"control", "rutine", "tobacco smoke", "rutine+tobacco smoke". In the first stage of research (pregnant, non-pregnant-- groups: "rutine" and "rutine+tobacco smoke"), the water rutine solution in a dose of 40 mg/kg of body weight was administered. The non-pregnant and pregnant animals from groups "tobacco smoke" and "rutine+tobacco smoke" were exposed to tobacco smoke via inhalation (1500 mg CO/m3 of air) for 21 days. All the animals were injected with the water Evans blue solution in a dose of 30 mg/kg of body weight. After 30 minutes, the animals were killed by cutting the abdominal aorta, and lungs, brain, liver and kidneys were taken for further testing. The cotinine in the urine was determined by the HPLC method, using norephedrine as the internal standard, after the preceding extraction by means of the liquid-liquid technique. The concentration of cotinine in case of non-pregnant and pregnant females was respectively 11.8 +/- 1.9 pg/ml of urine and 12.0 +/- 2.5 microg/ml of urine. In case of the rats, which received the rutine, the concentration of rutine in the group of non-pregnant females was 9.3 +/- 1.0 microg/ml of urine, and in the group of the pregnant ones 8.5 +/- 1.1 microg/ml of urine. In the lungs of non-pregnant animals exposed to tobacco smoke, the decreased permeability of vessels for the albumin-Evans blue complex was proven. The administration of rutine to non-pregnant and pregnant animals did not exert influence on the permeability of vessels in lungs. A similar result was obtained for the lungs of rats receiving the rutine, as well as those exposed to tobacco smoke. In the brain tissue of non-pregnant and pregnant animals, a slight decrease in the content of Evans blue was declared as a consequence of tobacco smoke impact. In the groups receiving the rutine, this flavonoid was declared to influence the blood supply of the brain tissue, and the permeability of the vascular walls. In the liver tissue of animals inhaling the tobacco smoke, the permeability of vascular walls for albumin-Evans blue complex was increased. The rutine did not affect significantly the permeability of vessels, whereas the exposure of pregnant females, which received rutine, to smoke decreased the content of Evans blue in the liver tissue. In the tissues of all tested females, no significant differences between the control groups and groups exposed to tobacco smoke as well as rutine+tobacco smoke were detected. The obtained results do not indicate, however, that in case of chronic exposure to tobacco smoke, the rutine has insignificant protective meaning.