Smoking Prevalence among Healthcare Workers and the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic Process on the Frequency of Smoking in Turkey

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the prevalence of smoking among healthcare workers and to investigate the anxiety level of healthcare professionals who have knowledge of COVID-19-related mortality and morbidity and are burdened by the anxiety and stress caused by the pandemic, and its effect on their smoking habits. An online questionnaire was used to facilitate the participation of busy healthcare workers. The survey was shared on all health platforms and various social network groups (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.) for doctors (specialists, physicians, residents, dentists), nurses, and all other healthcare workers This questionnaire consisted of two tests, namely the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and the Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependence Test (FNDT), and sociodemographic questions. A total of 806 healthcare workers, of whom 74.2% were physicians, 8.8% were midwives/nurses, and 15.1% were assistant health workers, participated in the study. Among all the participants, 501 (62.1%) were nonsmokers, 305 (37.9%) were smokers, and 8(1%) resumed smoking during the pandemic. In terms of the smoking habits of the participants during the pandemic period, 34% of the women who smoked had increased their amount of smoking. With respect to the smoking cessation rates of the participants, the physicians had quit or reduced smoking more than the other participants. The rate of smoking cessation in our study was 2.23%. Among those who quit, 88.8% were doctors, and the rate of quitting among them was 7.8%.