title: Smoking behaviour among schoolteachers in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic.
abstract: Characterizing the smoking habit in specific populations is important for health planners and policy-makers. We studied the smoking patterns of schoolteachers in Saraqeb, Syrian Arab Republic and found that 52.1% of males and 12.3% of females were current smokers. Male daily smokers smoked 20 +/- 1 cigarettes per day, females 10 +/- 4. Males had smoked for, on average, 16 +/- 1 years, females for 9 +/- 4 years. Daily smokers buying foreign brands spent 22.0% of their monthly income on cigarettes, while those smoking local brands spent 12.2%. Most teachers who smoked did so openly at school. Smoking among teachers should receive attention because it is closely related to the attitudes and practices of young people towards smoking.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maziak
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mzayek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al-Moushareff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005178:Faculty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013593:Syria / Q000453:epidemiology