Nicotine dependence and intention to quit among electronic, conventional and dual cigarette users in Karachi.

OBJECTIVE: To compare nicotine dependence and intention to quit among different types of smokers. METHODS: The comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to October 2019 in Karachi after approval from the ethics review committee of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University, and comprised conventional, electronic and dual cigarette users. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire regarding socio-demographics, usage characteristics, and intention to quit. The validated Hooked on Nicotine Checklist was also used. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: Of the 246 subjects, 82(33%) were conventional cigarette users with a mean age of 27.41±8.7 years, 82(33.3%) were electronic cigarette users having mean age of 30.37±9.16 years, and 82(33.3%) were dual cigarette users with a mean age of 28.89±9.07 years. The use of electronic cigarette was more in people with higher age (p=0.01), married (p=0.001) and having higher income (p=0.05). Compared to conventional cigarette users, electronic cigarette users showed lower odds of high nicotine dependence (odds ratio: 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.18-0.80). No significant difference was observed in intention to quit among different types of cigarette users (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Electronic cigarettes users were comparatively less nicotine-dependent compared to the users of other types of cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes should only be recommended to conventional users with the intention to quit.

Inadequate checks on smokeless tobacco usage in Pakistan: cultural heritage or policy neglect?

The Asian-Eastern Mediterranean block has increased inhabitation of the smokeless tobacco users. Due to geopolitical reasons, Pakistan is one of the countries which is in danger of suffering from future smokeless tobaccorelated morbidity and mortality due to weak policy measures. This paper is an overview of smokeless tobacco control measures practised in Pakistan, in comparison to its neighbouring countries sharing similar socio-cultural parameters. Tobacco control reports confined only to smokeless tobacco control were extracted for the region of Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions published under World Health Organisation. The selection of countries from each region was based upon the fulfilment of the criterion of sharing common borders with Pakistan and holding a signatory status under framework convention on tobacco control. There is a need to revise existing tobacco control strategy to include smokeless tobacco reforms over pricing, packaging and media communication in Pakistan.

Effects of dental aesthetics on psycho-social wellbeing among students of health sciences.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of dental aesthetics and socio-demographics on psychosocial well-being among students of health sciences. Methods: The analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at a private tertiary care health centre in Karachi from March to August 2018, and comprised medical, dental and pharmacy students. Data was collected using a structured adapted questionnaire comprising Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire and Aesthetic Component of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need which was graded from group 1 to group 5. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: Of the 385 subjects, 122(31.7%) were males and 263(68.3%) were females. The overall mean age was 20.6±1.70 years. There were 177(46%) medial students, 125(32.5%) dental and 83(21.6%) pharmacy undergraduates. Dental aesthetics concern and social impact factors were significantly different between the genders (p<0.05). The two factors were also significantly different with respect to years of study (p<0.05). Significant difference was observed between aesthetic concern and age (p<0.05). Dental self-confidence the highest in group 1 with a mean of 2.6±1.02, and the lowest in group 5 with a mean of 2.0±1.16 of Aesthetic Component of Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need. CONCLUSIONS: The psycho-social life was affected by poor dental aesthetics, indicating that dental therapy and cosmetic treatments had an influence over psychological well-being of individuals.