Sizable shifts in the oscillation frequency of a He&sngbnd;Ne laser with variations in the dc discharge current have been observed. The shifting effects are believed to be due principally to changes in the populations of the helium 23Slevel and the neon 1s5level. A simplified model is proposed for the approximate evaluation of these populations. A slightly modified version of the model, under regenerative conditions, is then used to evaluate the current shifting effects and the results are compared with experimental observations. The approach used is of sufficient generality to be applicable to most He&sngbnd;Ne lasers operating under optimum gain conditions. The results suggest that laser operation at 1.15 &mgr;, rather than 6328 Å, may considerably reduce the effects of current variations on the oscillation frequency. For constant pressure‐diameter product conditions, theory predicts that the current‐shifting effects will vary approximately inversely with tube diameter.