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The paper, in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research , is the first longitudinal study on the relationship between fruitand vegetable consumption and smoking cessation. The authors, from UB's School of Public Health and HealthProfessions, surveyed 1,000 smokers aged 25 and older from aroundthe country, using random-digit dialing telephone interviews. Theyfollowed up with the respondents fourteen months later, asking themif they had abstained from tobacco use during the previous month. "Other studies have taken a snapshot approach, asking smokersand nonsmokers about their diets," says Gary A. Giovino, PhD,chair of the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior atUB. "We knew from our previous work that people who wereabstinent from cigarettes for less than six months consumed morefruits and vegetables than those who still smoked. What we didn'tknow was whether recent quitters increased their fruit andvegetable consumption or if smokers who ate more fruits andvegetables were more likely to quit." The UB study found that smokers who consumed the most fruit andvegetables were three times more likely to be tobacco-free for atleast 30 days at follow-up 14 months later than those consuming thelowest amount of fruits and vegetables. These findings persistedeven when adjustments were made to take into account age, gender,race/ethnicity, education, household income and health orientation. They also found that smokers with higher fruit and vegetableconsumption smoked fewer cigarettes per day, waited longer to smoketheir first cigarette of the day and scored lower on a common testof nicotine dependence. "We may have identified a new tool that can help people quitsmoking," says Jeffrey P. Haibach, MPH, first author on thepaper and graduate research assistant in the UB Department ofCommunity Health and Health Behavior. "Granted, this is justan observational study, but improving one's diet may facilitatequitting." Several explanations are possible, such as less nicotine dependencefor people who consume a lot of fruits and vegetables or the factthat higher fiber consumption from fruits and vegetables makepeople feel fuller. "It is also possible that fruits and vegetables give peoplemore of a feeling of satiety or fullness so that they feel less ofa need to smoke, since smokers sometimes confuse hunger with anurge to smoke," explains Haibach. And unlike some foods which are known to enhance the taste oftobacco, such as meats, caffeinated beverages and alcohol, fruitsand vegetables do not enhance the taste of tobacco. "Foods like fruit and vegetables may actually worsen the tasteof cigarettes," says Haibach. While smoking rates in the U.S. continue to decline, Giovino notes,the rate of that decline has slowed during the past decade or so."Nineteen percent of Americans still smoke cigarettes, butmost of them want to quit," he says. Haibach adds: "It's possible that an improved diet could be animportant item to add to the list of measures to help smokers quit.We certainly need to continue efforts to encourage people to quitand help them succeed, including proven approaches like quitlines,policies such as tobacco tax increases and smoke-free laws, andeffective media campaigns." The UB researchers caution that more research is needed todetermine if these findings replicate and if they do, to identifythe mechanisms that explain how fruit and vegetable consumption mayhelp smokers quit. They also see a need for research on otherdietary components and smoking cessation. Gregory G. Homish, PhD, assistant professor in the UB Department ofCommunity Health and Health Behavior, also is a co-author. Funding was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation andLegacy®. I am an expert from portablebluetooth-speakers.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Mini Ball Speaker , USB Rechargeable Cigarette Lighter, Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speakers,and more.
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