Abstract:

The use of tobacco and tobacco products is a crucial public health concern in Turkey and across the globe. The purpose of this study was to determine both the level and severity of tobacco use among staff at a Mental Health Hospital in Istanbul, and to determine their views on the concept of a "Smokeless Hospital." The study group consisted of 330 hospital staff (F=208, M=122) aged 18-59 years. This cross-sectional and descriptive study made use of a three-part questionnaire that was prepared by the researchers. The first section was comprised of socio-demographic questions; the second questioned the opinions of the staff on the existence of a smoke-free air zone; the third carried out the Fagerström Nicotine Addiction Test (FNAT) to determine the addiction level of participants who smoked. Descriptive analysis of the demographic variables and a chi-square test were used to compare the data. The study found that the smoking rate among hospital staff was 33.3% (n=110), and identified a significant relationship between both smoking and gender and smoking and marital status. According to the FNAT examination of the addiction levels of smokers, 42.7% of those who smoked had a 'very low level of addiction'. The study concluded that the relationship between smoking and thoughts about smoke-free air zone was significant: the majority of smokers (53.5%) thought that the smoke-free air zone should be 'only indoors,' where non-smokers (75.9%) felt it should be 'both indoors and outdoors.'