title: A measure of nicotine dependence for smokeless tobacco users.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to examine the properties of a modification of the Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence in a large sample of smokeless tobacco (ST) users. The subjects for this study included 256 males who were recruited for a tobacco cessation intervention that involved a visit with a dentist and advice to quit smoking during the exam. At baseline, the modified dependence scale was administered to the participants and a saliva sample was collected to measure cotinine. The correlation between the total score and salivary cotinine was moderate among the ST only users (r=0.34), whereas it was lower (r=0.19) among the ST+cigarette users. Among ST only users, the coefficient alpha was 0.40; however it was considerably higher among the ST+cigarettes group (alpha=0.61). In both cases, the coefficient alpha was lower than the recommended value of 0.70. Future research should focus on refining questionnaires that more precisely measure nicotine dependence in smokeless tobacco users.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, The Ohio State University School of Public Health, B-209 Starling-Loving Hall, 320 West 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. aferketich@sph.osu.edu
authors.forename: Amy K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ferketich
authors.forename: Alvin G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Wee
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shultz
authors.forename: Mary Ellen
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Wewers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless