Cigarette smoking among healthcare professional students of university of lagos and lagos university teaching hospital (luth), idi-araba, lagos, nigeria

Background: It is aknown fact that health professionals can play a critical role in reducing tobacco use. In fact, it has been shown that even brief and simple advice from health care professionals can substantially increase smoking cessation rates. Students in healthcare professions arefuture healthcare professionals, identifying and documenting their knowledge, attitudes and practices with regards to tobacco smoking would shed light as to their future effectiveness in providing this much needed public health initiative in their practices.Objective: This research was carried out to determine cigarette smoking habit among healthcare professional students of University of Lagos and Nursing students of Lagos University Teaching Hospital.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. Data was collected by the use of a structured, self administered questionnaire which was aimed at determining their smoking status and their attitudes. Thetarget population was first and final professional year students representing the two class extremes and attempt was made to survey all the students that fell within this identified target population without randomization. Data was collected between March and June 2007Results: Out of 814 qualified participants, 433 responded to the questionnaire (53%). Smoking prevalence was highest among dental students (8.48%) while both Physiotherapy and Nursing students had nil prevalence rates. Overall, the current smoking prevalence was 3.93%.There was no statistically significant difference between the smoking habits of first year and final year students (p= 0.99). Based on Fagerstrom nicotine addiction test, only a small proportion of the current smokers can be classified as being maximally addicted (6.0%).Conclusions: From this study it can be concluded that smoking prevalence is low among healthcare professional students at the University of Lagos and this is a good indication that they would play critical role in reducingtobacco use. It is recommended that a tobacco counselling unit should beset up by the school authority.Keywords: Smoking prevalence, Smoking Habit, Current smokers, Addiction (FNTD

Weight change, haematology and lipid profile of normal male Wistar rats fed on high-calorie diet and vegetables

Background: The decline in vegetable consumption, some of which are gradually getting extinct because of insufficient information on their health benefits, is a major factor for the rise in the incidence of nutritional disorders. Objective: Effect of Amaranthus hybridus, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Senecio biafrae and Corchorus olitorius on the weight, haematology, and lipid profile of rats fed on high-calorie diet. Methods: The study comprised of six groups of male Wistar rats. Positive control (A) was fed on regular feed and water while the negative control (B) was fed a high-calorie diet. The four treatment groups were given high-calorie diet along with 5 % of one of the four vegetables for five weeks respectively. The weights of the rats were obtained before and after the experiment. The feed and water consumption of the rats were recorded daily. The haematology and the lipid profile were determined at the end of the experiment. Results: The composition of the feeds was significantly different (p<0.05). The mean weekly water intake (332 ml) and feed consumption (92 g) of the positive control were not significantly different while its mean weight change (22 g) was significant at p<0.05. S. biafrae increased non-significantly the PCV (48.25 %), 9 haemoglobin (16.25 g/dl) and platelet count (289 ×109 / L). A. hybridus lowered the total cholesterol (89.93 mg/dl), triglyceride (45.38 mg/dl) and LDL (77.65 mg/dl) while S. biafrae increased the HDL (44.65 mg/dl) level. Conclusion: The effect of the high-calorie diet was better ameliorated by A. hybridus and S. biafrae