Towards the Objective Speech Assessment of Smoking Status based on Voice Features: A Review of the Literature

TL;DR

This review explores whether voice features can objectively indicate smoking status and cessation, assessing the potential of voice analysis as a reliable validation tool in smoking cessation efforts.

Contribution

It synthesizes existing literature to evaluate the feasibility of using voice features for objective smoking status assessment and cessation validation.

Findings

Smoking can alter voice features.

Voice changes may indicate smoking cessation.

Voice-based assessment shows potential as an objective validation method.

Abstract

In smoking cessation clinical research and practice, objective validation of self-reported smoking status is crucial for ensuring the reliability of the primary outcome, that is, smoking abstinence. Speech signals convey important information about a speaker, such as age, gender, body size, emotional state, and health state. We investigated (1) if smoking could measurably alter voice features, (2) if smoking cessation could lead to changes in voice, and therefore (3) if the voice-based smoking status assessment has the potential to be used as an objective smoking cessation validation method.