Smoking Habits and Workplace Health Promotion among University Students in Southern Italy: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Investigation.
Elpidio Maria Garzillo, Maria Grazia Lourdes Monaco, Anna Rita Corvino, Alessia Giardiello, Antonio Arnese, Francesco Napolitano, Gabriella Di Giuseppe, Monica Lamberti
Author Information
Elpidio Maria Garzillo: Department of Prevention, Abruzzo Local Health Unit No. 1, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy. ORCID
Maria Grazia Lourdes Monaco: Occupational Medicine Unit, University Hospital of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy. ORCID
Anna Rita Corvino: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy.
Alessia Giardiello: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy.
Antonio Arnese: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy.
Francesco Napolitano: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy. ORCID
Gabriella Di Giuseppe: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy. ORCID
Monica Lamberti: Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', 80138 Naples, Italy.
The study aimed to investigate the tobacco smoking prevalence, habits and awareness among a cohort of healthcare students from a university hospital in southern Italy and the associations with socio-demographic determinants. A secondary outcome was to estimate the educational needs to receive information on smoking-related risk factors. Five hundred and forty-nine students completed a self-administered questionnaire (180 male and 369 female, average age 25 yo, ±5.9 SD), enrolled from October 2018 to November 2019 at the University of Naples 'Luigi Vanvitelli', and the collected data were analysed by descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The sample's prevalence of current smokers was 25.3%, without a significant sex difference. The multiple logistic regression model showed the link between smoking habits and alcoholic beverage consumption ( < 0.001) and living with smokers ( = 0.003). The enrolled cohort does not seem to need more information about the risks of cigarette smoking ( = 0.028). The data analysis and the comparison with the current literature allowed the authors to hypothesise a training model to be adopted within a workplace health promotion programme managed by an occupational physician. This model included targeted training for smoking dissuasion, focusing on sex and gender, cohabitant's influence, and combined addiction management. Further research will focus on the effectiveness of these proposed models.
