Nicotine dependence and tobacco product consumption

Background: Tobacco is consumed in smoked, smokeless, e -cigarettes and various other forms. Tobacco is also used in combination with other psychotropic agents like areca. Nicotine dependence may vary amongst use of different types of tobacco products. This study aimed to evaluate Nicotine dependence and correlated it to the varied tobacco products and the nature of tobacco consumption amongst users in a hospital based population.
Materials and methods: The Cross-sectional observational questionnaire based study was conducted amongst 100 subjects with tobacco use in a dental hospital Out Patient Department. Subjects enrolled were divided into 3 groups smoke, smokeless and combination form. Tobacco dependence was evaluated using Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence (FTND) and a detailed case record was made of the type and nature of tobacco consumed its duration, and frequency. Pearson correlation test was used for statistically analysis of collected data. p value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: High addiction seen by FTND score was observed in 48% of smokeless tobacco users as compared to 22 % of smokers. Subjects on smokeless tobacco were likely to have high FTND score that ranged from 5.7 to 18.6 than subjects on smoked tobacco, FTND score ranged from 3.4 to 10.5. These differences were evident when the frequency of tobacco intake remained the same for both the groups. Further there were more subjects who consumed tobacco > 5 years in smokeless form than smoked form that shows more addictive potential for smokeless tobacco.
Conclusion: Thus the aim of the was to create awareness amongst individual and to put an end to the habit and reduce incidence of oral cancer. So, we as a dental professional, should evaluate nicotine dependence and plan strategies to reduce its use.