Cognition of smoking including heated tobacco products among dental hygiene students

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate and assess dental hygiene students’ cognition of smoking including the heated tobacco products (HTPs).
Methods: An internet questionnaire, including smoking status regarding cigarettes and HTPs, Kano test for social nicotine dependence (KTSND) and cognition of HTPs was conducted for 311 dental hygiene students at Aichi Gakuin University Junior College in April 2019.
Results: This survey collected data from 301 students (97%) whose average age was 19.3 year, ranging from 18 to 30 (standard deviation = 1.4). This sample included 3 cigarettes smokers (1%) and 4 HTPs smokers (1%), one of which was a dual user. The percentage of students who correctly knew the name of HTPs was as many as 91%. However, the percentage of those who correctly recognized all 8 of the harmful effects of HTPs were only 36 students (12%). The median KTSND scores among those who had never smoked were fewer than them among those who had experienced smoking. Furthermore, those students without secondhand smoke exposure were significantly lower than those with exposure to secondhand smoke.
Discussion: The KTSND scores by smoking status in this study were similar to the scores of previous reports.
Conclusions: This study indicated that smoke-free education including HTPs is important for dental hygiene students to support smoking cessation efforts in the future.