Dentists’ attitudes and knowledge regarding smoking cessation advice and vaping in India: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background: In 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that annual tobacco-related deaths in India would exceed 1.5 million. India stands second in terms of global consumption of tobacco, with consumption figures being twice the consumption of the European Union. Tobacco use is a key public health issue in India because it is responsible for increasing the burden of chronic diseases, cancers, and associated mortality. WHO estimates that 1% of India’s GDP is lost to early deaths and diseases associated with tobacco use. While smoking cessation remains a public health challenge in India, a new dilemma facing dental health professionals in India is the use of vapes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude and knowledge of dentists in India regarding smoking cessation advice and vaping.

Methods: This study followed a quantitative design and gathered data through an online survey. The questionnaire included demographic questions and two Likert scale questions. Data was analysed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Frequency analysis was conducted for all questions to identify the frequency and corresponding percentage of responses. This was followed by a cross-tabulation of Likert scale questions with the demographic questions, combined with a chi-square analysis to test the association between variables. The charts and tables were developed using Microsoft Excel.

Results: The study found that the overall level of knowledge among dentists in India regarding smoking cessation advice and vaping is high. Moreover, dentists maintain a positive attitude towards offering smoking cessation advice to patients, whereas maintain a negative attitude towards prescribing e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool.

Conclusion: Dentists play an important role in offering smoking cessation advice and improving the cessation rates in India. Therefore, the key recommendation for this study is that dentists should be given training regarding the latest guidelines on smoking cessation. Awareness should also be increased among dentists regarding their role in increasing smoking cessation in India.