Smoking habits and attitude toward tobacco use among health professionals in Denmark in 1996
Nielsen, P.E.; Falk, J.; Danielsen, U.S.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 162(31): 4140-4144
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 10962914 Document Number: 513124
The purpose of the study was to investigate smoking habits in different groups of health professionals. A total of 7844 were interviewed using postally distributed questionnaires. The response rate was 85%. The study showed a much lower smoking prevalence among groups of health professionals compared to the normal population apart from social assistants and hospital porters, where the smoking rate was even higher than in the Danish population. Among medical doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives the smoking rate had decreased faster from earlier investigations than among the Danish population. Future strategy in Danish policy concerning campaigns in the population and among health professionals as role-models is discussed. Fifty-two percent of the interviewed agreed that health professionals should not smoke, while on duty, but with quite big differences between the groups (min. 31% among hospital porters, max. 73% among dentists).