[Policy and routine practice for smoking cessation in France]

Effect of cigarette smoke on gustatory sensitivity, evaluation of the deficit and of the recovery time-course after smoking cessation

BACKGROUND

Study results have shown that chronic exposure to cigarette smoke affects the taste function in humans. However, neither the quantitative impact on taste sensitivity nor the time-course of taste recovery on stopping smoking have been precisely examined.

METHODS

The experimental design included 2 phases, (i) a case-control phase comparing the taste sensitivity level measured by Electrogustometric (EGM) thresholds from various parts of the tongue (locus) between smokers (n = 83) and non-smokers (n = 48), (ii) a follow-up study looking at the taste sensitivity recovery in smokers after smoking cessation (n = 24) and compared with non-smokers.

RESULTS

Smokers exhibited significantly lower taste sensitivity than non-smokers - the higher the nicotine dependence (Fagerström scores), the lower the taste sensitivity. After smoking cessation, EGM thresholds decreased progressively, and reached the taste sensitivity range of non-smokers depending on locus and time. After 2 weeks a recovery could be observed on the 3 Tip and the 2 edge loci; the recovery in the posterior loci was complete after 9 weeks, and in the dorsal loci recovery was observed only after 2 months or more.

CONCLUSIONS

Smoking cessation does lead to a rapid recovery of taste sensitivity among smokers, with recovery time found to differ based on the sensitivity of loci of the tongue. The use of EGM could potentially be explored as a motivational tool for smoking cessation.

What distinguishes successful from unsuccessful tobacco smoking cessation? Data from a study of young adults (TEMPO)

INTRODUCTION

Smoking prevalence rates among young people are high in many countries. Although attempts to quit smoking increasingly occur in young adulthood, many former smokers relapse. We compared individuals who successfully quit smoking from those who relapsed on socio-demographic, psychological and health factors.

METHODS

Data come from telephone interviews conducted in 2011 with participants of the TEMPO community-based study (ages 18-37 years, France). To study the likelihood of successful cessation vs. smoking relapse, we restricted the study sample to current or former smokers (n = 600) and conducted multinomial logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

43% of participants were current smokers who never quit for an extended period and, 33% former smokers and 24% current smokers who relapsed after extended cessation. In multivariate analyses female sex, parental status and illegal drug use were associated with both successful and unsuccessful smoking cessation. Factors specifically associated with a low probability of smoking cessation were job strain and symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention, while occupational grade was associated with smoking relapse.

CONCLUSIONS

Work and family circumstances, co-occurring substance use and psychological difficulties may influence smoking cessation in young adults. These characteristics should be considered by individual and collective interventions aiming to help young smokers quit successfully.

[Smoking cessation and social deprivation]

Smoking is a major of public health policy issue; one in two lifelong smokers will die from a disease related to tobacco use. In France, smoking is responsible for more than 70,000 deaths every year. The benefits linked to stopping smoking include reduced mortality and morbidity related to the use of tobacco. Recent data show an increase in the prevalence of smoking in the lowest socioeconomic population. Tobacco control needs a better understanding of the determinants of smoking in this population, which are also factors in the failure of cessation attempts. Based on international literature, this review specifies the educational and socioeconomic factors involved in tobacco smoking and in the result of an attempt to quit. Its aim is to propose ways to improve the management of smoking cessation in a socially deprived population.