Interactions between exhaled CO, smoking status and nicotine dependency in a sample of Turkish adolescents.

The aim of this study was to show the interactions between nicotine dependency, exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) and smoking status including environmental passive tobacco smoke exposure in a sample of Turkish adolescents. This study was a cross-sectional research conducted among high school students of Erzurum province (n=536). The level of exhaled CO of all participants who accepted to participate in the study was measured by Microbio CO Analyzer (Microbio Med). Nicotine dependency was measured by a six-item version of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. Mean age of the adolescents was 17.0 +/- 1.6 (median: 17) and 77.1% were male. Of the study population, 30.2% and 11.4% of the students were regular and occasional smokers, respectively. Non-smokers who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke had significantly (p<0.01) higher exhaled CO levels (2.8 +/- 2.6 ppm) than not-exposed non- smokers (1.8 +/- 1.9 ppm). Only 8.6% of adolescents who reported themselves to be a regular smoker had 7 ppm and higher exhaled CO. There was a statistically significant and positive correlation between exhaled CO levels and nicotine dependency after controlling for environmental tobacco smoke exposure and cigarettes per day (partial correlation, r=0.334, p=0.004). Exhaled CO can be used as a predictor of smoking status and environmental tobacco smoke exposure and an indicator of nicotine dependency in adolescents.