Tobacco use and knowledge of its health consequences among healthcare workers in Enugu, Nigeria

Background: Tobacco smoking is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality globally. Health care professionals have a very unique role in motivating people to quit smoking and knowledge of the consequences of smoking is necessary in initiating smoking cessation. Objectives: This study aimed to assess tobacco use, knowledge of its health consequence and attitude regarding its control among health care workers in Enugu, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey carried out among adult health care workers at a tertiary hospital from June to August 2018. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) core questionnaire was used to collect data on tobacco use, knowledge of its health consequence and attitudes regarding its control. Results: Of 245 health workers who completed the survey, 40.8% were doctors and 56.7% were males. Only 6.9% of the participants indicated that they have ever received training on smoking cessation. The life-time prevalence of tobacco smoking was 24.9% and 20.4% of the participants were current smokers at the time of the survey. Only 55.9% (137/245) of the respondents had good knowledge (≥70%) of the health effects of tobacco use. Participants generally had the right attitude towards banning tobacco sale (79.2%), advertisement (83.3%), and banning smoking in restaurants (90.2%). Conclusions: Smoking prevalence among health care workers is high, and knowledge of the adverse effects of tobacco use was average. There is a need for an intervention to eliminate tobacco use and promote smoking cessation among health care workers in Enugu, Nigeria. Keywords: Tobacco, Smoking, Control, Global Adult Tobacco Survey.