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Smoking on the decline in most health care professions
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Overall smoking prevalence among health care professionals has declined in recent years, particularly among registered nurses, according to a recent study.
Data from 2003 and 2006-2007 indicated no significant declines in smoking prevalence among health care professionals. The highest prevalence was among licensed practical nurses (20.55%) and the lowest among physicians (2.31%).
New data from 2010-2011 demonstrate that 8.34% of health professionals who responded to a survey indicated that they were current smokers. The prevalence according to profession ranged from 1.95% among physicians to 24.99% among licensed practical nurses.
Overall, fewer professionals reported current smoking than in 2003 (P=.004) and 2006-2007 (P=.01), but analysis according to profession indicated that registered nurses were the only group with a significant decline from 2006-2007 to 2010-2011 and 2003 to 2010-2011 (from 11.14% to 7.09%; P<.001).
The number of responders who indicated that they were “never smokers” increased both between 2002 and 2010-2011 (10.19% increase) and between 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 (7.16% increase; P<.001 for both). Significantly fewer responders considered themselves “former smokers” between 2003 and 2010-2011 (25.37% decrease; P<.001) and between 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 (19.07% decrease; P=.003). Analysis according to profession indicated that from 2006-2007 to 2010-2011, registered nurses (from 62.1% to 70.29%; P=.04) and licensed practical nurses (from 46.35% to 32.48%; P=.02) were the only groups with significant changes in the proportion of those who reported quitting smoking.
“Recent declines in smoking among health care professionals may reflect the impact of national tobacco control policies and efforts focused on reducing smoking among registered nurses,” the researchers wrote. “After little change in prevalence from 2003 to 2006-2007, the drop in smoking among registered nurses was more than twice that of the 13% decrease in the population, and the proportion who have quit was higher than the general population estimate. … Continued smoking and diminished quitting among licensed practical nurses remains a serious concern.”
The findings come from a comparison of self-reported tobacco use data from the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey of 2,975 health care professionals between 2010 and 2011 and data obtained during 2003 (n=3,877) and 2006-2007 (n=3,870). Responders were grouped according to use as never smokers (<100 cigarettes per lifetime), former smokers (≥100 cigarettes per lifetime, but no current smoking) and current smokers.
Disclosure: Sarna reports consulting for the International Society for Nurses in Cancer Care and receiving grant funding from Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning and Change.
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