Tobacco preventive measures by dental care staff. An attempt to reduce the use of tobacco among adolescents.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the tobacco habits of children and adolescents within the catchment area of a public dental clinic before and after information about tobacco was given by dental care staff. The study was carried out over a three-year period on all 12- to 19-year-olds who came to the clinic for check-ups, 919, 933 and 859 individuals during each respective year. In the first year epidemiological data regarding use of tobacco were registered. Starting with the second year of the study coordinated information was given about the detrimental health effects of tobacco use. This consisted of individual information during the check-up, waiting-room information, and tobacco information in connection with dental health education in school. Use of tobacco was observed from the age of 14. Use was similar among boys and girls and increased with age. The proportion of tobacco users was 10.3%, 11.5%, and 7.3% for the respective years of the study. Statistical analysis shows that the reduction between the second and third year of the study is significant (p < 0.05). The result supports the hypothesis that tobacco information conveyed by dental care staff can influence the tobacco habits of children and adolescents.
Skjöldebrand
J
J
Public Dental Service, Uppsala County Council, Sweden.
Gahnberg
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003726:Dental Assistants; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011636:Public Health Dentistry; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014026:Nicotiana