Smoking habits among the hospital staff of a General Hospital in northern Greece: a long way for smoke-free hospitals.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND

AND AIM:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the smoking habits of all staff working in a General Hospital, and to examine whether these habits comply with the introduction of a tobacco law in July 2002, where smoking in enclosed public areas, including hospital buildings, has been forbidden in Greece.

METHODS:
All hospital staff in Serres General Hospital was asked to complete and return a questionnaire about their smoking habits. The questionnaire was voluntary and anonymous. The survey was conducted from October 2003 to January 2004.

RESULTS:
Six hundred and twenty three (74%) of the 847 members of staff responded; 310 (50%) were current smokers and 313 (50%) were non-smokers of whom 101 (32%) were ex-smokers. The prevalence of current smokers was the highest among nurses (57%) and the lowest among doctors (31%). Male smokers (42%) were outnumbered by female smokers (54%) in all age groups up to the age of 60 years (p<0,01), although the reverse is the trend in Greek population (47% and 29%, respectively). The highest rate of smokers was found at the age group of 31-40 years (60%), while these above sixty years had the smallest (29%). Seventy percent of current smokers had at least one family member who was current smoker vs 49% of non-smokers (p<0,001). The vast majority of smokers (94%) continued to smoke in hospital, of whom 62% smoke more than 5 cigarettes while at work.

CONCLUSIONS:
The high rate of smokers among the health professionals compared to those in the general population would probably have a negative influence on the development, implementation and inspection of workplace smoking bans in Greece. Increased efforts to promote tobacco education and intervention among doctors and nurses and to establish specialist smoking cessation services throughout the National Health Service should be the standard component of antismoking policy for the law to be effective.

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Author information

Author/s: Vagropoulos, I (I); Tsilchorozidou, T (T); Tsinopoulos, G (G); Salonikidou, Z (Z); Mouratova, M (M); Giavropoulou, M (M); Grigoriadis, N (N);

Affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Serres General Hospital, Serres, Greece. ivagro(-atsign-)otenet.gr

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Evaluation Studies; Journal Article

Journal: Monaldi archives for chest disease = Archivio Monaldi per le malattie del torace / Fondazione clinica del lavoro, IRCCS [and] Istituto di clinica tisiologica e malattie apparato respiratorio, Università di Napoli, Secondo ateneo (Monaldi Arch Chest Dis), published in Italy. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 65 (issue 3) : pp 160-4

Dates: Created 2007/01/15; Completed 2007/02/12; Revised 2008/06/02;

PMID: 17220106, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Age Factors
Female
Greece - epidemiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged

Middle Aged
Nurses
Personnel, Hospital
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Sex Factors
Smoking - epidemiology; legislation & jurisprudence

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