Helping NHS staff to stub it out: a study of the smoking habits of staff working for a mental handicap unit

Abstract

IN 1984, the health promotion group of West Cumbria via its smoking interest group initiated a pilot study to determine the number of smokers in a discrete sample of the district NHS staff. It was anticipated that the detailed information obtained would facili tate the planning of future health education on smoking and influence local NHS smoking policies. Results indicated that while the problem is not as great as had been anticipated, particular groups of staff appear to be at risk. There was a difference in the number of nursing versus non-nursing staff who smoke; the former are more likely to be smokers. In particular, the proportion of night staff who smoke is comparatively high. It is recommended that future health education policy must be geared to answering the specific needs of different staff populations.