The stimulation of sensorial receptors by irritants induces, in small rodents, a decrease of respiratory frequency which is proportionnal to the agent concentration (Alarie test). This test is proposed for the evaluation of the irritant effect of cigarette smoke. An experimental device was designed to expose mice to different smoke concentrations. The respiratory frequency is measured with a plethysmograph interfaced with a computer. Precautions are taken to expose the animals as abruptly as possible, and to minimize interferences from various constituents such as CO and HCN. In these conditions, the test can differentiate cigarettes over a large irritancy range. However, this irritant index is not always in close agreement with the evaluation of irritancy by panelists. The discrepancy comes mainly from the relative lack of reliability of Alarie test. Some solutions are proposed to improve the test reproducibility in order to be used as a complement to, if not as a substitute for, taste evaluation.