Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Paediatric Medicine, Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Bardhaman,

2 Department of Preventive and Social Medicine. All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Tobacco use causes many diseases irrespective of age and sex. More the addiction, more is the
occurrence of morbidity in terms of frequency and severity. This community‑based study was
conducted to find out any relationship between the morbidity associated with tobacco use and
nicotine dependence. In an urban slum – Alamganj, district Burdwan, West Bengal, India, from
January to October 2012 among 128 current adult tobacco users using Fagerström test for nicotine
dependence (FTND) questionnaire. Tobacco users were maximally suffering from chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) (27.27%), gastritis (25.45%), and leukoplakia (25.45%). For individual
diseases, the difference in FTND score was significantly high in cases of gastritis, hypertension,
and COPDs. All types of morbidity were more common in the group of high nicotine dependence.
FTND score can be suitably used to assess nicotine dependence of the tobacco users, who can be
counseled accordingly to reduce the tobacco‑related morbidity and mortality.

Keywords

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