Social nicotine dependence and the efficacy of anti-smoking education among dental hygienists

：The smoking prevalence, social nicotine dependence and efficacy of anti-smoking education among 40 dental hygienists aged 21 to 57 years (36.1 (SD10.5) years) old working at a dental hospital and their families were studied using the Kano Test for Social Nicotine Dependence (KTSND). The KTSND has 10 questions with a total score of 30. The questionnaire was administered at baseline, after an initial anti-smoking education increased to 6.0 (4.7) again before the 2nd education program at 6 months, but decreased again to 2.2 (3.0) after the 2nd education program at 6 months from the baseline, and remained low at 3.7 (4.8) until 13 months later. The decreased KTSND showed a tendency to increase with time after the initial education program, but decreased again with repeated education and thereafter persisted at a low value until at least 13 months after the baseline (baseline vs. after initial education, before and after the 2nd education program at 6 months from the baseline, and at 13 months, P ＜ 0.01). The KTSND score of 9.3 (6.5) among the dental hygienists who inhaled second-hand smoke was higher than 8.2 (4.4) in those who did not inhale second-hand smoke at home, however, the difference was not significant. These results represent new findings suggesting that repeated anti-smoking education programs cause KTSND scores to decrease significantly and remain low for an extended period of time.