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Breath carbon monoxide as an indication of smoking habit in the military setting.
Singapore Med J. 2004 Dec; 45(12):578-82.SM

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The breath carbon monoxide (CO) monitor has been shown to be an effective tool in predicting smoking habits. This study aims to assess whether the breath CO level can be employed to determine a person's smoking habit in the military setting and to analyse various factors that can influence the breath CO levels.

METHODS

155 navy personnel were questioned on their smoking habits in phase one of the study. The subjects were explained the objective of the study and instructed to provide two breaths into the CO monitor (EC-50 Smokerlyser, Bedford Instruments, Kent, UK). In a subsequent single blind study, 40 trainees were not told of the purpose of the study and were assessed via a questionnaire and smokerlyser estimation. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the data and assess distribution. Depending on the distribution, a two-sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test were used to test for a significant difference between CO levels among smokers and non-smokers.

RESULTS

In phase one, the mean breath CO levels were 11.6 (plus or minus 6.2) ppm for smokers and (1.9 plus or minus 0.9) ppm for non-smokers (p-value less than 0.0001). A cut-off level of 5 ppm gave a sensitivity of 96 percent and a specificity of 98 percent. The high CO levels were clustered within five hours of the last cigarette smoked. Therefore, this value may not reliably predict smoking habits if an individual smoked more than five hours before the test. Of the 40 subjects in phase two, five smokers who stated that their last cigarette smoked was 48 hours before the breath test had a mean CO level greater than 5 ppm. (range of 5.5 to 18.0 ppm). On further questioning, all admitted to having smoked on the day of the test.

CONCLUSION

The breath CO monitor has good potential for use as an adjunct in future smoking control assessments and a reading greater than 5 ppm strongly suggests that the military outpatient is a smoker.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Low EC
Naval Medicine and Hyperbaric Centre, AFPN, Sembawang Camp, 36 Admiralty Road West, Singapore 759960.
Ong MC
No affiliation info available
Tan M
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultBreath TestsCarbon MonoxideFemaleHumansMaleMilitary PersonnelSmokingStatistics, Nonparametric

Pub Type(s)

Evaluation Study
Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

15568119

Citation

Low, E C T., et al. "Breath Carbon Monoxide as an Indication of Smoking Habit in the Military Setting." Singapore Medical Journal, vol. 45, no. 12, 2004, pp. 578-82.
Low EC, Ong MC, Tan M. Breath carbon monoxide as an indication of smoking habit in the military setting. Singapore Med J. 2004;45(12):578-82.
Low, E. C., Ong, M. C., & Tan, M. (2004). Breath carbon monoxide as an indication of smoking habit in the military setting. Singapore Medical Journal, 45(12), 578-82.
Low EC, Ong MC, Tan M. Breath Carbon Monoxide as an Indication of Smoking Habit in the Military Setting. Singapore Med J. 2004;45(12):578-82. PubMed PMID: 15568119.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Breath carbon monoxide as an indication of smoking habit in the military setting. AU - Low,E C T, AU - Ong,M C C, AU - Tan,M, PY - 2004/11/30/pubmed PY - 2005/5/10/medline PY - 2004/11/30/entrez SP - 578 EP - 82 JF - Singapore medical journal JO - Singapore Med J VL - 45 IS - 12 N2 - INTRODUCTION: The breath carbon monoxide (CO) monitor has been shown to be an effective tool in predicting smoking habits. This study aims to assess whether the breath CO level can be employed to determine a person's smoking habit in the military setting and to analyse various factors that can influence the breath CO levels. METHODS: 155 navy personnel were questioned on their smoking habits in phase one of the study. The subjects were explained the objective of the study and instructed to provide two breaths into the CO monitor (EC-50 Smokerlyser, Bedford Instruments, Kent, UK). In a subsequent single blind study, 40 trainees were not told of the purpose of the study and were assessed via a questionnaire and smokerlyser estimation. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the data and assess distribution. Depending on the distribution, a two-sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test were used to test for a significant difference between CO levels among smokers and non-smokers. RESULTS: In phase one, the mean breath CO levels were 11.6 (plus or minus 6.2) ppm for smokers and (1.9 plus or minus 0.9) ppm for non-smokers (p-value less than 0.0001). A cut-off level of 5 ppm gave a sensitivity of 96 percent and a specificity of 98 percent. The high CO levels were clustered within five hours of the last cigarette smoked. Therefore, this value may not reliably predict smoking habits if an individual smoked more than five hours before the test. Of the 40 subjects in phase two, five smokers who stated that their last cigarette smoked was 48 hours before the breath test had a mean CO level greater than 5 ppm. (range of 5.5 to 18.0 ppm). On further questioning, all admitted to having smoked on the day of the test. CONCLUSION: The breath CO monitor has good potential for use as an adjunct in future smoking control assessments and a reading greater than 5 ppm strongly suggests that the military outpatient is a smoker. SN - 0037-5675 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/15568119/Breath_carbon_monoxide_as_an_indication_of_smoking_habit_in_the_military_setting_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -