Tobacco smoking habits among a cross-section of rural Japanese nurses

Background: Despite a high community smoking rate, few investigations of tobacco usage among Japanese nurses have been conducted in rural areas, particularly those in the southern islands. Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the epidemiology of tobacco smoking among a previously understudied group of rural Japanese nurses. Design: A self-reporting questionnaire was adapted from previous investigations and distributed to a complete cross-section of 1162 nurses from a large teaching hospital in southern Japan (response rate: 74.0%). Results: A total of 10.9% (95% Confidence Interval: 9.0- 13.2) were current smokers, with a further 2.9% (95% CI: 2.0-4.3) being ex-smokers. When stratified by gender, the prevalence of smoking was 10.8% (95% CI: 8.9-13.1) among females, and 18.7% (95% CI: 6.6-43.0) among males. The median number was 10.0 cigarettes per day for a period of 10.0 years. When stratified by age, the highest smoking prevalence (16.4%) was observed among nurses aged between 45 and 50 years. In relation to career length, the highest smoking prevalence (13.3%) was demonstrated among those who had worked between 6 and 10 years. Conclusions: Overall, our study suggests that around 11% of rural nurses in southern Japan currently smoke tobacco. When stratified by gender however, the prevalence among male nurses was almost double that of their female counterparts. Although interventions to reduce smoking are clearly needed in this region, interventions will need to consider the underlying social and cultural motivations for tobacco usage among Japanese people, in general. (author abstract)