EFFICACY OF DENTAL-HEALTH ADVICE AS AN AID TO REDUCING CIGARETTE-SMOKING

Ninety-eight cigarette smokers attending the Newcastle upon Tyne Denta l Hospital, wishing to reduce their tobacco consumption, received smok ing reduction advice in combination with dental health instruction and periodontal care. those advised against smoking showed a greater redu ction (P < 0.001) in reported cigarette consumption during treatment a nd follow-up, compared with 38 control subjects who received dental he alth instruction but no advice against smoking. Fifty per cent of inte rvention subjects reported reducing to half or less than half of their initial cigarette consumption, compared with 24% for controls. Eighty per cent of those advised against smoking reported some reduction, ag ainst 29% for controls. The reported smoking cessation ate in the inte rvention group was 13.3%, compared with 5.3% in the control subjects. The results indicate that advice against smoking combined with dental health instruction and periodontal care can be an effective aid to red ucing tobacco consumption.