C57Bl/6J, DBA/2 and ICR mouse strains are known to possess different susceptibilities to developing emphysema after exposure to cigarette smoke with DBA/2 and C57Bl/6J strains being significantly more susceptible to pulmonary damage than the ICR strain. This study was aimed at analysing the occurrence of systemic oxidative stress in the blood of these different mouse strains after exposure to cigarette smoke. This study did not observe a significant decrease in glutathione in erythrocytes or in plasma cysteine, cysteinylglycine, homocysteine and glutathione in C57Bl/6J or DBA/2 mice, whereas a significant increase in the corresponding oxidized forms was observed in plasma. However, the ICR strain showed a significant increase in glutathione in erythrocytes and a significant decrease in most of the oxidized forms of cysteine, cysteinylglycine, homocysteine and glutathione in plasma after the same exposition. These experiments demonstrate that exposure to cigarette smoking induces systemic oxidative stress only in some mouse strains which are susceptible to developing emphysema.