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Background The carcinogenicity of chewing tobacco is well established. It is predominantly used by the South Asian community in England. Little is known about the accessibility of the products available for use in England. Methods Wards with high proportions or numbers of residents from the South Asian community were identified using 2001 Census data. Within each ward product purchasers identified retail outlets and purchased chewing tobacco products from them. Results Chewing tobacco products were found in a broad variety of premises in all but one ward, and were easily accessible. Ninety-eight products were identified and purchased with a mean price of £1.82. Of the ninety four pre-packaged products purchased only 15% (95% CI: 8%, 22%) complied with legal health warning requirements. Conclusion The study indicates the need to improve compliance with legal controls and enforcement to protect the South Asian community from health risks associated with chewing tobacco products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the potential barriers and facilitators to health visiting (HV) teams delivering oral health promotion during the 9-12-month old child mandated visit in Ealing, England., Background: HV schemes and their counterparts worldwide share similar priorities to discuss oral health at 6-12 months of age. The HV programme in England stipulates at 9-12 months old, diet and dental health should be discussed. HVs believe dental decay is important however oral health knowledge is varied. Further, little is understood about what drives HVs to deliver oral health advice. An appropriate theoretical model to explore these factors is the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)., Methods: An opportunistic sample of HV team members was drawn from three hubs to allow for maximum variation. First, participants completed a questionnaire to establish baseline knowledge. Secondly, participants were invited to take part in focus groups (FGs) with vignettes. Thirdly, face-to-face interviews were conducted. FGs were subject to thematic analysis and the interviews to framework analysis., Results: Thirty-six participants provided written informed consent and completed baseline questionnaires. Three FGs were conducted with an average of seven participants (n=21) followed by 13 interviews. Perceived facilitators: good levels of knowledge and skills, sense of professional role, emotions, belief in capability, organisational structure and resources. Perceived barriers: gaps in knowledge, conflicting advice from other professionals, conflicting issues for parents/ carers, use of interpreters., Conclusions: These findings can be harnessed to support oral health promotion delivered by HV teams., (Copyright© 2020 Dennis Barber Ltd.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Smoking has been identified as the second greatest risk factor for global death and disability and has impacts on the oral cavity from aesthetic changes to fatal diseases such as oral cancer. The paper presents a secondary analysis of the National Adult Dental Health Survey (2009). The analysis used descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses and logistic regression models to report the self-reported oral health status and dental attendance of smokers and non-smokers in England. Of the 9,657 participants, 21% reported they were currently smoking. When compared with smokers; non-smokers were more likely to report 'good oral health' (75% versus 57% respectively, p<0.05). Smokers were twice as likely to attend the dentist symptomatically (OR = 2.27, CI = 2.02-2.55) compared with non-smoker regardless the deprivation status. Smokers were more likely to attend symptomatically in the most deprived quintiles (OR = 1.99, CI = 1.57-2.52) and perceive they had poorer oral health (OR = 1.77, CI = 1.42-2.20). The present research is consistent with earlier sub-national research and should be considered when planning early diagnosis and management strategies for smoking-related conditions, considering the potential impact dental teams might have on smoking rates.

Aim: To evaluate smokeless tobacco cessation in communities of South Asian origin., Design: Multi-centre prospective cohort study., Setting: Three tobacco cessation services offering specialist smokeless tobacco cessation outreach clinic support to South Asians (Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani) resident in England., Participants: A total of 239 South Asian participants seeking to stop smokeless tobacco use between November 2010 and December 2011., Measurements: Socio-demographics, tobacco use and dependence, self-reported abstinence at 4 weeks and satisfaction measures., Findings: Participants' mean age was 45 [standard deviation (SD) = 13] years, were predominantly female (76%), of Bangladeshi origin (74%), either home carers (53%) or not working (29%). Sixty-three per cent were recruited from community locations, 21% through a clinical contact and 16% through friends and family. Mean daily number of smokeless tobacco intakes was 10 (SD = 7) and the mean dependence score was 4.5 (SD = 1.9). Sixty-three per cent of participants achieved continuous abstinence 4 weeks after quitting. Using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) versus not using it [OR = 3.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25, 9.62] and below median (≤ 8) daily smokeless tobacco intakes (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.40) predicted successful abstinence., Conclusion: South Asian smokeless tobacco users resident in England accessing services to help them stop appear to have short-term success rates comparable with smokers attending stop-smoking services, with higher success rates being reported by those using nicotine replacement therapy., (© 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Objective: To determine whether or not and to what extent health promotion and smoking cessation activities varied between dental practices relative to their National Health Service (NHS)/private treatment mix., Methods: A piloted questionnaire was posted to all dental practitioners within West Yorkshire, with two follow-up mailings., Results: The response rate was 50% (386/769) of dental practitioners within West Yorkshire. Respondents were dichotomised at the median according to the proportion of NHS/private patients seen (>89% NHS, described as 'NHS-orientated practices' [NHSOPs] and <90% NHS, referred to as 'more privately-orientated practices' [POPs]). Practice profiles: Compared with POPs, NHSOPs' respondents had a significantly higher proportion of adult patients exempt from NHS charges (34% vs 57%), together with a higher proportion of children. Health promotion activities: there was no significant difference between the two groups of practitioners regarding the proportion claiming to give smoking cessation advice (42% vs 37%), although a higher proportion of those from POPs offered guidance on diet and nutrition (67% vs 54%; P<0.05). However, a significantly higher proportion of POP respondents reported (a) recording smoking status in the clinical notes, (b) giving out smoking-related leaflets, and (c) referring to an NHS 'Stop Smoking Service'. NHSOP respondents were more likely to cite 'lack of time', 'no incentive' and 'lack of expertise' as potential barriers to providing health promotion advice. General: 7% of POP respondents thought that the new NHS contract arrangements would influence their smoking cessation activities versus 19% of NHSOP residents., Conclusions: Considerable variation between NHSOPs and POPs was found when comparing aspects of their health promotion/smoking cessation activities. The findings identified here suggest that the current situation, with regard to the NHS, will tend to increase health inequalities.