Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the smoking status of members of the Japanese Society of Periodontology (JSP). Self-administered questionnaires to determine the smoking status were distributed to certain members of the society who were selected through stratified proportional random sampling. A total of 631 members responded, which represents a response rate of 42.1%. Of those who responded, 62.4% were males and 30.3% were in their 30s, which represented the largest of all the age groups. The respondents consisted of dentists (75.4%), dental hygienists (22.5%), dental technicians (0.2%), students (0.3%) and others (1.6%). The respondents were also divided into the following groups: university dental staff (15.2%), university hospital staff (8.1%), general practitioners (71.6%) and others (5.1%). According to the JSP qualification, the respondents consisted of instructors for periodontists (4.9%), board-certified periodontists (13.0%), periodontists (8.6%), board-certified dental hygienists (13.2%), and general members (60.4%). With regard to the workplace policy on smoking, a completely smoke-free workplace policy was reported by 48.2% of the respondents, and 34.9% reported that smoking was allowed only outside the buildings; 30.7% of those not actively smoking reported being exposed to second-hand smoke at home. The sample included 376 people who had never smoked (59.6%), 211 ex-smokers (33.4%), and 44 current smokers (7.0%). The prevalence of smoking in dentists was 8.4%, which was higher than that in the dental hygienists (2.1%, P<0.05). When analyzed by qualification, the prevalence of smoking in all the certified periodontists was 7.8%, which was lower than that in the general members (8.7%). By age-group, the prevalence of smoking was 8.9% in the 30s age group, 6.9% in the 40s age group, 6.2% in the 50s age group, 8.0% in the 60s age group, and only 3.1% in the respondents who were in their 20s. Among the smokers, 70.5% had actually tried to quit smoking and 81.8% reported that they were in the contemplation stage. The present study highlights the importance of focusing attention on members of the JSP for smoking cessation in periodontal treatment.
