[Smoking habits among medical students in Bergen].

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to examine smoking habits among the students in a Norwegian medical school and to assess how smoking habits vary by sex, age and class seniority.

METHOD

The study was performed by handing out to all students during plenum lectures a questionnaire on smoking habits. Students not present were sent the questionnaire by mail.

RESULTS

866 of 894 students (97%) responded; 8 questionnaires were excluded from the study. Among the remaining 858 students, 53% stated that they had never smoked, 14 % were ex-smokers, 28% were occasional smokers, and 5% reported that they smoked regularly. No differences were found with respect to age, sex and seniority.

INTERPRETATION

The percentage of daily smokers among medical students was low, but the high percentage of occasional smokers may indicate that the prevalence of smoking among Norwegian doctors could increase.