Tobacco Use and Oral Health of Inmates in a Nigerian Prison

Objectives: To determine the effect of tobacco use on oral health status of inmates of a federal prison in Enugu, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: The study involved 230 inmates of the Nigerian Prison in Enugu. An interviewer­administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the demographic characteristics of the participants, oral hygiene methods, and smoking habits. An intra­oral examination to determine their oral health status was done using simplified oral hygiene index (OHI­S) for the oral hygiene status, the modified decayed missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index for caries status, and community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) for the periodontal needs. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 15 was used to analyze data.Results: One hundred and twenty participants (52.2%) were current smokers. Mean DMFT of smokers and nonsmokers were 2.38 ± 0.71 and 2.25 ± 0.83 respectively (P = 0.508) while mean Community Periodontal Index (CPI) scores of smokers and nonsmokers were 4.71 ± 1.26 and 2.27 ± 0.86, respectively (P = 0.276). Oral soft tissue lesions such as mucosal burn, oral leukoplakia­like lesions were found mainly in the tobacco users. Conclusion: Tobacco use had a negative effect on the oral health of the participants as smokers had worse oral health profile than non­smokers. They may benefit from counseling programs with the view to educate them on the effect of tobacco use on oral health and by extension, the general health. The full implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty in Nigeria could help in curtailing these unwanted consequences of tobacco use

Plasma Concentration of Ascorbic Acid and Some Hematological Parameters in Tobacco Snuffers Among the Igbos of Southeastern Nigeria

Tobacco snuffing; like cigarette smoking; is known to be a common habit among the adults of Igbo communities in Nigeria. In view of the various pharmacological actions of nicotine and other additive constituents of tobacco snuff; there is growing concern that ascorbic acid; which is a vital antioxidant; and blood cell production or morphology may be affected. Objective: To investigate the possible effects of prolonged use of tobacco snuff on plasma ascorbic acid concentrations and some hematological parameters. Materials and Methods: Fifty adults of Igbo extraction (35 males and 15 females) residents in and around Enugu metropolis; who have been snuffing tobacco for 6 years and above; were recruited for the study; after they gave informed consent. Also; 50 apparently healthy; age-matched persons (25 males; 25 females); who do not smoke or take tobacco snuff; served as controls. Spectrophotometric method was adopted for ascorbic acid determination while hematological profiles were assessed by Bain method. Results: The results showed no significant difference in the measured parameters relative to the controls AA (P=0.08); Hb (P=0.19); PCV (P=0.10); RC (P=0.06); PC (P=0.20); WBC (P=0.09). Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that tobacco snuff inhalation may not adversely affect plasma ascorbic acid concentration and hematological parameters in adult humans. The study; however; has not concluded that tobacco snuffing is totally wholesome

Smokeless Tobacco Use in Adult Nigerian Population

The study aim was to establish the prevalence and determinants of smokeless tobacco use in Nigerian adults' population. Across-sectional survey of 1776 adults inYola; North-East Nigeria was carried out in June 2007.A modified World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco survey questionnaire was used for interview and data collection. Out of 1776 interviewed respondents; 133 (7.49) were user of smokeless tobacco. Snuffing of tobacco powder was the most common method of using smokeless tobacco (6.8). Fifteen (0.9) chewed tobacco while only 2(0.1) both chewed and snuffed tobacco. Social acceptance (21.8) was the major reason for using smokeless tobacco. Males; 5th and 6th decades of life; poor education; lower socioeconomic class; Margi; Hausa and Fulani tribes were the determinants of smokeless tobacco use.About 89.5of the smokeless tobacco users believed that smokeless tobacco was not harmful to their health. : Although the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use was low among Nigerian adult population in this study. Ignorance of the potential health dangers of smokeless tobacco was rampant therefore; concerted efforts should be made to discourage the use of all forms of tobacco rather than concentrating on cigarette smoking

Leukokeratosis nicotinica; tobacco/snuff and tobacco smoking-pre-cancerous and malignant potentials

Leukokeratosis nicotinica is keratosis found in the oral mucosa of chronic chain smokers especially pipe smokers and commonest in the palate. There is no sex predilection so far as the smoking habit is chronic. The lesion is also known as nicotine stomatitis and smoker's keratosis. Though leukokeratosis nicotinica is not ranked mainly as precancerous lesion; it may have some degrees of dyplastic changes indicative of premalignancy and in some cases carcinoma in situ