Photos Can Help Athlete’s Quit Tobacco:

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters Health) — Viewing graphic photos of mouth cancers and receiving dental counseling may help persuade college athletes to give up chewing tobacco, according to a study from the University of California in San Francisco. Researchers found that one year after completing such an intervention program, more than twice as many college athletes had given up chewing tobacco. About 35% of subjects in the program quit, compared with 16% of tobacco users who did not participate in the intervention program. The report is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health, a journal of the American Public Health Association. “Our findings… indicate that an oral examination by a dental professional who points out tissue damage from smokeless tobacco use in a user’s own mouth, advice to quit, and brief problem solving and supportive counseling are effective in promoting smokeless tobacco cessation,” conclude Margaret M. Walsh and colleagues. The researchers recruited varsity football and baseball players from 16 California colleges to take part in an intervention program aimed at helping them quit chewing tobacco, also called smokeless tobacco or spit tobacco. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention program or to no program. Those in the program met which a dentist who carried out an examination, discussed tobacco-related tissue changes in the player’s mouth, showed the players photographs of facial disfigurement as a result of oral cancer, and provided tips for quitting. These athletes could also meet individually with a dental hygienist to discuss nicotine withdrawal and develop a plan to quit. After one year, researchers contacted subjects to complete a follow-up questionnaire and collect a saliva sample from those who claimed to have quit. They compared the 171 tobacco users who took part in the intervention program with a control group of 189 tobacco users who did not participate. The researchers found that the number of athletes who quit using smokeless tobacco was twice as high in the intervention group as in the group who did not participate in the program. The team conclude that the “use of physical attractiveness and short-term health effects as methods of deterring tobacco use may be more effective for youth than emphasizing long-term health effects.” Previous studies have found that between 26% and 55% of male college athletes use chewing tobacco, which has been linked to increased risk of oral cancer, changed in oral mucosa, periodontal disease, and possibly cardiovascular disease. The study was funded by the Tobacco Surtax Fund of the State of California through a research program at the University of California.

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