Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry, Iftikhar Ahmed Chaudhry, Mamood.
Prevalence of smoking among health care providers in tertiary care hospitals.
Rawal Med J Jan ;34(1):40-2.

Objective To assess the prevalence, causes and knowledge about hazards of smoking among health care providers in tertiary care hospitals at Rawalpindi. Method This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at Armed Forces Tertiary Care Hospitals/ Institutes at Rawalpindi from April 2006 to September 2006. A Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 subjects after obtaining informed consent. Results Prevalence of smoking was 28%. High prevalence of smoking was among male doctors (31%) and paramedical staff (44%). There was no smoker among female doctors and only three smokers among 60 nurses. Sixty-eight per cent of smokers started smoking between 20-30 years of age. Cause of smoking in 31% was peer pressure while 25% started smoking because their father or brothers were smokers at home. Twenty four per cent of ex-smokers quitted smoking due to medical problems while 30% left smoking on medical advice. Two hundred and seventy out of 300 (90%) knew the hazards of smoking. Conclusions There is high prevalence of smoking among health care providers. Smoking cessation programs should be initiated for health care providers. (Rawal Med J 2009; 34: 40-42)

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