The absorption of radiation from a cw CO(2) laser by a mixture of absorbing SF(6) and transparent buffer gases has been measured as a function of pressure of added transparent gas (C(4)H(10)). The results are analyzed in terms of thermal diffusion of excited SF6 molecules out of the irradiation zone. In the 60-400-Torr pressure range, thermal difusion depletes the concentration of SF(6) so that the overall absorption is decreased and competes with the various channels of collisional relaxation which enhance absorption. An approximate semiempirical expression is used to determine the transient perturbation of concentration which occurs inside the laser beam.