Comparison of Salivary Cotinine Concentration in Cigarette Smokers, Water Pipe Smokers and Non - Smokers

Water pipe smoking has become a public health hazard. The aim of this study was to measure and compare the concentration of salivary cotinine in cigarette smokers، water pipe smokers and nonsmokers. Forty-eight volunteers (16 cigarette smokers، 16 water pipe smokers and 16 nonsmokers) participated in this cross-sectional study. High sensitivity Salivary Cotinine Quantitative enzyme immunoassay kit was used to measure the salivary cotinine concentration. Non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test، Pearson’s correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to determine the correlation between number of cigarettes smoked and concentration of cotinine. The mean concentration of salivary cotinine was 223. 74 (±181. 56) ng/ml (the highest) in cigarette smokers، 106. 24 (±135. 23) ng/ml in water pipe smokers and 0. 73 (±1. 24) ng/ml in nonsmokers. The difference in this respect among the 3 groups was statistically significant (P<0. 0001). In smokers، the level of salivary cotinine increased by 1. 84 ng/ml per each time of cigarette smoking per week. This increase was 14. 57 ng/ml per each time of water pipe consumption per week. The mean concentration of salivary cotinine was significantly higher among cigarette smokers compared to water pipe smokers and nonsmokers. However، one time consumption of water pipe caused a greater rise in salivary cotinine level compared to cigarette smoking.