SMOKING AMONG MEDICAL WORKERS IN THE INSTITUTE OF RESPIRATORY MEDICINE (IPR) HOSPITAL KUALA LUMPUR (SHAMSIR STUDY), 2002.
Keywords:
smoking prevalence, quit smoking, health care workers, Institute of Respiratory MedicineAbstract
Cigarette smoking is so widespread that even medical workers are not exempted. A crossectional survey was conducted among health care workers of the Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Hospital Kuala Lumpur to determine the prevalence of smoking and to assess readiness among the current smokers to quit. A total of 165 workers from all categories was surveyed using a preô€€…tested self-administered questionnaire. The survey began in Mac 2002 and ended in April 2002. The survey showed that 24 .8% of the workers surveyed were current smokers. Only male workers were found to smoke and the prevalence among them was 60.3%. Majority were moderate smokers, smoking between 10 to 20 cigarettes a day and were mainly lower category of workers. Median age of starting to smoke was 17.6 years. There were 20 smokers (52.6%) who were ready to quit. This study found the prevalence of smoking among male health care workers to be higher than males in the general population. The low level of education-of these workers seemed to influence smoking status.
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