Reverse smoking and palatal mucosal changes in Filipino women. Epidemiological features

The habit of reverse smoking is practised in various parts of the world including the Philippines. In this pilot, community-based, cross-sectional study carried out in the region of Cabanatuan City in the Philippines. 61 Filipina reverse smokers and 30 Filipina conventional smokers were interviewed and clinically examined. Seven demographic variables and twelve habit variables were compared in the two study groups. The majority (96.7 per cent) of reverse smokers exhibited palatal mucosal changes including leukoplakia, mucosal thickening, fissuring, pigmentation, nodularity, erythema and ulceration. In comparison, only 26.7 per cent of conventional smokers exhibited mucosal changes predominantly focal pigmentation and mild erythema. This difference was statistically significant at a X2 value of 47.28 (p < .001). Analysis of the other variables indicated that the two study groups differed significantly with regard to age (p < .05), educational attainment (p < .01), use of filtered versus non-filtered cigarettes (p < .001) and duration of smoking in years (p < .01).