P.L. 99-252--implications for dentists and their clinical practice

This paper is one of a series attempting to determine the impact of Public Law 99-252, the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986, on decreasing smokeless tobacco use. Potential indicators are discussed that could be used by the dental profession to determine the efficacy of the profession's involvement in existing and future prevention and cessation efforts relative to this law. In this review, six major areas are considered for measuring declines in smokeless tobacco use relative to the role of the dental health practitioner. These areas encompass the following: (1) the dental profession's knowledge of smokeless tobacco health hazards, (2) dental practitioners' involvement in measuring changes in use patterns, (3) the influence dentists have with their patients and community in decreasing smokeless tobacco use, (4) the general attitude and intention to quit on the part of dental patients, (5) active governmental involvement efforts, and (6) health effects of smokeless tobacco that might be used for identifying decreasing smokeless tobacco use. Within each of these six broad categories, more specific indicators for measuring the impact of P.L. 99-252 relative to the dental profession were considered.