Smiles Better - Smoking Cessation Programme

Smoking Cessation Programme

At present there are approximately 13 million adult smokers in the UK, 28% of the population. It is estimated that about 4 million smokers a year attempt to quit the habit but of these only about 5% succeed.

The damaging and harmful effects of tobacco on oral health and the mouth tissues are now well known namely:-
• An increase in the number of patients with periodontal (gum) disease
• The link between tobacco use of any kind with oral malignancies (cancer)

A smokers lifespan is shortened by about five minutes for each cigarette smoked – this is about the amount of time that is spent smoking a cigarette. On average those killed by smoking have lost 10-15 years of life (Royal College of physicians Tobacco Advisory Group 2000)

Smoking Tobacco

Tobacco smoke is made up of “side-stream smoke” from the burning tip of the cigarette and “main-stream smoke” from the filter of the mouth end. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of different chemicals that are released as particles and gases. Many toxins (poisons) are present in tobacco smoke. The particle part includes nicotine and “tar” (itself composed of many chemicals). The gas part includes carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and other complex chemicals. Some of these are known to be irritants and some 60 chemicals have been shown to cause cancer (carcinogens). There is no evidence that switching to lower tar cigarettes will reduce the harm done to the oral tissues.

Smokeless (Chewing) Tobacco

There are two main types of smokeless tobacco – chewing tobacco and snuff. In the European Union there is a ban on the use of both. Chewing tobacco is however, uses in England predominantly by Asian communities. Most often it is mixed with other substances such as areca nut. People who chew tobacco mix it to produce a ball (quid), which is often kept in the mouth for some considerable time. It is frequently tucked in one place – for example the cheeks of the mouth where it greatly increases the person’s risk of developing Leukoplakia – a pre-cancerous lesion. It is well established that there is a much higher number of cases of oral cancer among the Asian community who chew tobacco or areca nut.

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