Comparative Analysis of Smoking Awareness Among Nursing Students and Professionals in Spain

Abstract

Background: Tobacco consumption is considered one of the main risk factors in the development of non-communicable diseases such as respiratory, cardiovascular, or oncological diseases, among others. Nurses play an important role in identifying smokers and making them aware of the consequences of tobacco use, advising them on smoking cessation. Objective: The aim of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of the level of smoking awareness among nursing students and professionals. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire, previously validated. This questionnaire was given to nursing students between March and June 2022 and to nursing professionals between January and March 2023. Results: The prevalence of tobacco use was found to be 14.5% among nursing students and 19.1% among nursing professionals. Regarding the level of awareness, professionals always obtained better results than students, with statistically significant differences when analysing the mean scores obtained in the questionnaires regarding awareness of the effects of tobacco consumption in active smokers (8.72 vs 8.07; p<0.001) and of the pathologies that could manifest in passive smokers (5.49 vs 5.27; p=0.008). Conclusion: The results of the analysis show that professionals seem to be better educated and to use tobacco more than students. The awareness that professionals have about the different consequences of active and/or passive smoking does not lead to a decrease in the prevalence of smoking, probably because the number of years they have been using cigarettes is much higher than that of students. Similarly, proving an acceptable level of awareness does not result in professionals promoting smoking cessation programmes.