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Assessment of Tobacco Users in Creating an Educational Intervention to Promote Oral Health
Author(s) -
Chawla Sudeep,
Einstein George P.,
Tulp Orien L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.548.10
Subject(s) - smokeless tobacco , socioeconomic status , intervention (counseling) , medicine , environmental health , public health , tobacco use , consumption (sociology) , population , psychiatry , nursing , social science , sociology
The purpose of this study was to characterize smoking behaviors amongst individuals of various socioeconomic status, to assess the need to develop an educational program that addresses the failure of getting treatments for diseases that stem from tobacco related products. Further, we wished to identify the target populations that might be the most suitable to be recruited in such a program for behavioral intervention and consultation by an oral health professional with a goal to to dissuade individuals from smoking and other tobacco use. Consuming tobacco in form of cigarettes, but also in more ‘artisanal’ forms like cigars and pipes as well as the current trend to ‘vaping’ or even consuming entirely smokeless tobacco are behaviors that are ultimately detrimental to the oral and subsequent physical health of individuals. Socioeconomic status has been negatively correlated with the engagement in such unhealthy behaviors, thereby potentially burgeoning society with increased treatment costs while suggesting that better access to public resources might be a viable way to reduce tobacco consumption across the socioeconomic strata in the future. Methods In a retrospective study, adult patients at NSU Dental School's Department of Oral Diagnosis were asked about their smoking behavior and several other demographic details, including age, gender, educational status and smoking history using an Axium questionnaire. Results indicated there was a slight prevalence of non‐smokers vs. smokers among the participants, with a few individuals preferring smokeless tobacco or electronic cigarettes. The prevalence or non‐smokers vs. smokers was reflected across the majority of demographic categories, with the exception of young age, old age, middle to low income and either low or the highest degree of education. Conclusion These results are sufficient to select a first cohort of individuals who were younger and in a lower socioeconomic category to participate in a consultation/behavioral intervention program for tobacco users with low vs. high socioeconomic status. Support or Funding Information Support from Institutional Resources This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .