Oral-malodor measurement and intention to quit smoking in men: A before-after study

Few studies have examined the effect of feedback based on oral-malodor measurements on the motivation to quit smoking. Therefore, this study examined whether oral-malodor measurements were associated with the intention to quit smoking.

This retrospective, uncontrolled before-after study invited smokers to a workplace health event in 2019 and 2020 to motivate them to quit smoking. They attended seminars on oral health and smoking cessation aids, and then underwent respiratory function and oral-malodor measurements using exhaled and oral cavity air, respectively. Intention to quit smoking was evaluated by answers to questions regarding the intention to quit in the next 1 or 6 months in questionnaires collected before and after the event. This study analyzed 241 men aged 20-54 years (mean: 33.2 ± 10.5) to examine factors associated with the intention to quit in multivariable logistic regression analyses for age, tobacco type (cigarettes and heated-tobacco products), and category of tobacco consumption.

Before the event, 8.7%, 17.0%, and 74.3% of smokers had intended to quit in the next month, the next six months, or had no intention to quit, respectively. After the event, the respective percentages were 17.8%, 26.6%, and 55.6%. A higher methyl mercaptan concentration, a volatile sulfide component of oral malodor, was significantly associated with the intention to quit in the next month (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=4.24; 95% CI: 1.52-11.8, p=0.006). The participants with higher daily tobacco consumption were less likely to acquire the intention to quit in the next six months (AOR=0.37; 95% CI: 0.15-0.92, p=0.032). Other variables, such as lung age deficit, exhaled CO concentration, and hydrogen sulfide concentration (another component of oral malodor), were not significantly associated.

Oral-malodor measurement feedback may help motivate men to quit smoking in the next 1 month rather than in the next six months.