Comparison of Salivary Cotinine Concentrations in Male Smokers and Smokeless Tobacco Users

Abstract

Objective: Smoking cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are one of the causes of oral cancer. This study compared<br />the salivary level of cotinine in male smokeless tobacco users and smokers. Methods: In this cross-sectional<br />(descriptive-analytical) study, stimulated saliva samples from 30 male smokers and 30 male smokeless tobacco consumers<br />were collected and their cotinine contents were measured using the competitive ELISA method according the standard<br />curve. The data was analyzed with independent t-test and linear regression using SPSS-19, and Psignificant. Result: Among the 60 subjects with the mean age of 21.27±2.6 years, the average level of cotinine in<br />smokers (12.32±7.5 ng/ml) had no significant difference with that of smokeless tobacco consumers (11.23±4.4 ng/ml)<br />(p=0.49). Conclusion: Salivary levels of cotinine were not significantly different in smokeless tobacco users and<br />cigarette smokers. In addition, increases in the number of cigarettes smoked and in pack of smokeless tobacco used,<br />were associated with increased salivary levels of cotinine. The increase was higher in smokeless tobacco consumers.