Tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and cessation counseling among medical students: cross-country data from the Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS), 2005-2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>GHPSS is a school-based survey that collects self-administered data from students in regular classroom settings. GHPSS produces representative data at the national or city level in each country. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and cessation counseling among medical students using the GHPSS data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) was conducted among 3^rdyear medical students in 47 countries and the Gaza Strip/West Bank from 2005-2008 to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and amount of formal training in cessation counseling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 26 of the 48 sites, over 20% of the students currently smoked cigarettes, with males having higher rates than females in 37 sites. Over 70% of students reported having been exposed to secondhand smoke in public places in 29 of 48 sites. The majority of students recognized that they are role models in society (over 80% in 42 of 48 sites), believed they should receive training on counseling patients to quit using tobacco (over 80% in 41 of 48 sites), but few reported receiving formal training (less than 40% in 46 of 48 sites).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tobacco control efforts must discourage tobacco use among health professionals, promote smoke free workplaces, and implement programs that train medical students in effective cessation-counseling techniques.</p

The incidence of smoking and risk factors for smoking initiation in medical faculty students: cohort study

BACKGROUND: Medical education requires detailed investigation because it is a period during which the attitudes and behaviors of physicians develop. The purpose of this study was to calculate the yearly smoking prevalence and incidence rates of medical faculty students and to identify the risk factors for adopting smoking behaviour. METHODS: This is a cohort study in which every student was asked about their smoking habits at the time of first registration to the medical faculty, and was monitored every year. Smoking prevalence, yearly incidence of initiation of smoking and average years of smoking were calculated in analysis. RESULTS: At the time of registration, 21.8% of the students smoked. At the end of six years, males had smoked for an average of 2.6 ± 3.0 years and females for 1.0 ± 1.8 years (p < 0.05). Of the 93 medical students who were not smokers at the time of registration, 30 (32.3%) were smokers at the end of the 6 years of the course. CONCLUSION: The first 3 years of medical education are the most risky period for initiation of smoking. We found that factors such as being male, having a smoking friend in the same environment and having a high trait anxiety score were related to the initiation of smoking. Targeted smoking training should be mandatory for students in the Medical Faculty

Tabagismo em estudantes de Medicina: tendências temporais e fatores associados Smoking among medical students: temporal trends and related variables

INTRODUÇÃO: Após o declínio observado na prevalência de tabagismo entre estudantes de Medicina entre as décadas de 1960 e 1980, parece estar ocorrendo, atualmente, uma estabilização nessa prevalência. OBJETIVO: Avaliar as tendências temporais de tabagismo entre estudantes de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Pelotas (RS) nos últimos dezessete anos, e alguns dos fatores associados ao hábito de fumar desses estudantes. MÉTODO: Estudos transversais com metodologias comparáveis foram conduzidos em 1986, 1991, 1996 e 2002. Questionários auto-aplicáveis foram utilizados. Definiu-se como fumante o indivíduo que fumava mais de um cigarro por dia há mais de um mês. Foram realizadas análises descritivas iniciais, análises brutas com utilização dos testes de qui-quadrado para heterogeneidade e tendência linear, e regressão de Poisson para avaliar o efeito do ano cursado sobre a freqüência de tabagismo, com controle para a idade do estudante. RESULTADOS: A prevalência atual de tabagismo entre os estudantes foi de 10,1%, valor estatisticamente similar ao dos levantamentos de 1991 e 1996. Não foram encontradas diferenças na prevalência de tabagismo por sexo, idade, tabagismo materno ou paterno. A freqüência de tabagismo aumentou durante a faculdade. CONCLUSÕES: A tendência de declínio na prevalência de tabagismo em estudantes de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Pelotas parece estar sendo substituída por uma estabilização em torno de 10% a 15%. O combate ao fumo ainda parece indispensável em ambientes universitários, especialmente nas escolas de Medicina.<br>BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of smoking among medical students declined steadily between the 1960s and 1980s, it seems to have stabilized in recent years. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate temporal trends, over the last 17 years, in the smoking habits of medical students at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and to identify some possible risk factors for smoking. METHOD: Cross-sectional surveys with comparable methodologies were conducted in 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2002. Self-administered questionnaires were used. Smokers were defined as those who were smoking at least one cigarette per day for at least one month. Descriptive analyses were carried out, as well as crude evaluations using chi-square tests for heterogeneity and linear trend. In addition, Poisson regression, adjusted for age, was used in order to evaluate the effect of medical school class year on the incidence of smoking. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking among UFPel medical students was 10.1%, statistically similar to values found in 1991 and 1996. No differences in smoking frequency were found relating to sex, age, or parental smoking. The prevalence of smoking was found to increase progressively over the course of medical school. CONCLUSIONS: The downward trend in smoking prevalence among UFPel medical students is being replaced by a stable rate of approximately 10-15%. Anti-smoking campaigns are still necessary in university environments, especially in medical schools