[The phenomenon of spreading smoking cigarettes among the first year course students in the Medical Academy]

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared the addiction of tobacco smoking as a separate disease unit requiring adequate recognition and treatment. In the International Classification of Diseases, it has been registered with F17 as mental and behavioral disorders caused by tobacco smoking. As some research shows, an estimated 4 million people die every year (about 11 thousand a day), because of smoking-related illnesses and the number has been expected to rise until 10 million in 2030. The health service workers such as nurses and midwives play a huge part in establishing pro-health attitudes. They are expected to participate in campaigns promoting a tobacco-free lifestyle. It is important that the persons mentioned were non-smokers, otherwise the information regarding the negative effects will be unconvincing. The main goal of the study was to estimate the phenomenon of spreading smoking cigarettes among the first year course students in the Medical Academy, and accomplishing their knowledge and awareness about threats resulting from tobacco smoking. All information was collected from the poll questionnaire, which was filled in by each person independently. The group (n = 100) consisted of 50 interviewed females (n = 50) and 50 interviewed males (n = 50) at the age between 18 and 20. The poll questions were carried among the first year course students in the Medical Academy, in May and June 2006. They were guaranteed anonymity. The results subdued to statistic analysis showed no statistic dependence between the gender of the interviewed and tobacco smoking. The basic study questions referred to the number of young people who have already experienced smoking, and to the intensity degree of the experience. The study aimed also in identifying factors influencing the popularity of the phenomenon in question. The research touched such questions as conviction about damage caused by smoking, the source of information, causes and effects of smoking, about the environment of the interviewed people (family members, friends--whether they are smokers or non-smokers). Other questions concerned the time of the first experience with smoking- whether it was childhood, puberty or adolescence time, the interviewee's smoking preventive activities in their future work place and their opinion about themselves as non-smokers. All the questions were subdued to quantitative measurement due to estimation of all interviewed population.