Factors Affecting Smoking Cessation Success of Heavy Smokers Registered in the Intensive Care Smoking Cessation Camp (Data from the National Tobacco Control Center)

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors involved in the success of smoking cessation in heavy smokers enrolled in an intensive care smoking cessation camp program. METHODS: Heavy smokers enrolled in the program were classified into a success (n = 69) or failure (n = 29) group, according to whether they maintained smoking cessation for 6 months after the end of the program. Demographics, smoking behaviors, and smoking cessation-related characteristics were analyzed. RESULTS: Statistically significantly more participants in the success group had a spouse (98.6%; p = 0.008) compared with participants in the failure group (82.8%). However, multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that having a spouse was not an independent factor in smoking cessation (p = 0.349). A significant difference in the frequency of counseling between the success and failure groups was observed (p = 0.001), with 72.5% of those who received counseling on 3–5 occasions for 6 months after the end of program successfully quit smoking, indicating that those who received more counseling had a higher likelihood of smoking cessation success. This was confirmed as an independent factor by multivariate logistic regression (p < 0.005). Furthermore, a graduate school level of education or higher, indicated a statistically greater success rate compared to those that were less well educated (p = 0.043). This was also observed as a significant independent factor using multivariate logistic regression (p = 0.046). CONCLUSION: Education level, marital status, and the number of counseling sessions were significant factors contributing to smoking cessation success.

Dietary effect of royal jelly supplementation on epidermal levels of hydration, filaggrins, free amino acids and the related enzyme expression in UV irradiated hairless mice

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation reduces epidermal hydration, which is paralleled by the reduction of natural moisturizing factors (NMFs). Of various NMFs, free amino acids (AAs) are major constituents generated by filaggrin degradation. In this study, we attempted to determine whether dietary supplementation of royal jelly (RJ) in UV-irradiated mice can alters epidermal levels of hydration, filaggrins, and free AAs as well as of peptidylarginine deiminase-3 (PAD3), an enzyme involved in filaggrin degradation processes. Albino hairless mice were fed either a control diet (group UV+: UV irradiated control) or diets with 1% RJ harvested from different areas in Korea (groups RJ1, RJ2, and RJ3) or imported from China (group RJ4) for six weeks in parallel with UV irradiation. A normal control group (group UV-) was fed a control diet without UV irradiation for six weeks. Reduced epidermal levels of hydration, total filaggrins, and PAD3 were observed in group UV+; in group RJ1, these levels were increased to a level similar to that of group UV-. In addition, profilaggrins, two repeat intermediates (2RI), a precursor with two filaggrin repeats, and filaggrin were increased. Although no alteration of AAs was observed in any of the groups, and glutamate and serine, major AAs of NMF in group RJ1 were higher than in group UV+. Despite the increased levels of PAD3, epidermal levels of hydration, filaggrins, glutamate, and serine in groups RJ2, RJ3, and RJ4 were similar to those in group UV+. Dietary supplementation of RJ1 improves epidermal hydration in parallel with enhanced expression and degradation of filaggrin, but not by increased protein expression of PAD3, along with increased generation of glutamate and serine.