title: [Smoking habits in health care workers: experience in two general hospitals of Eastern Sicily].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to assess the smoking habits in health care workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  In concomitance with a medical examination for Health Care Surveillance requested by the Italian Laws (D. Lgs. 626/94), our operative units interviewed 2,000 persons (47.9% males, 52.1% females, mean age = 45 yrs (SD+/-9.41 yrs) working in two General Hospitals of Eastern Sicily.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of smokers was found to be higher in men (34.5%) than in women (33.6%), in Health Care Operators (36.4%) and professional nurses (36.2%) than in medical doctors (27.7%), in night-time workers (34,5%) then in day-time-workers (28,7%). The compliance with smoking restriction was found to be poor; in fact, 60% out of smokers declared to smoke during the working hours.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This investigation has revealed the significant prevalence of tobacco smoking among the health care workers in general. We think that the inclusion of an anonymous questionnaire on smoking habits within the Services of Sanitary Surveillance may help in the national campaign against cigarette smoking.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Patologie Sistemiche, Sezione di Medicina del Lavoro. proietti@unict.it
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Proietti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bonanno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Maria
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palermo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Polosa
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lupo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires