[Smoking behaviours among staff of two university hospitals in Paris, 2021]

A survey on smoking prevalence was conducted among staff at the Georges Pompidou and Corentin Celton hospitals in the framework of the "smoke-free hospital" project. It aimed to determine the smoking status of different categories of personnel, their desire to be helped to quit and, as regards healthcare staff, whether or not they were encouraging patients who smoked to try to quit.

From February to May 2021, an anonymous survey was distributed, first on paper in the occupational health unit, and then online in all wards.

All in all, 775 people, three quarters of whom were women, participated in the survey (15% of the workforce). Among the respondents, 27% said they smoked: 29.6% of the men and 26.1% of the women. Unsurprisingly, the age group with the highest prevalence was 18-24years. High prevalence was likewise found among technical and administrative staff. More than half of the smokers, who consumed an average of 8 cigarettes a day, were interested in receiving smoking cessation support. As regards smoking cessation support for patients, 49% of medical and nursing staff (70% of the doctors) frequently or systematically advised them to quit.

Our results illustrate a need to reach high-prevalence categories of smokers in a hospital setting, the objective being to help them to consider quitting, and also a need to train health professionals in smoking cessation counseling.