Nurses ' smoking habits SHEILA HILLIER

THIS survey set out to investigate the smoking habits of a group of young women-student nurses whose smoking habits are of particular interest since they, more than anyone except the medical profession, have a formal knowledge of the potential hazards of cigarette smoking reinforced by exposure to the results. The aim of the research was to show how social factors, in particular occupational stress and the social climate of the hospital influenced nurses to take up the habit of smoking, or to change their pattern of smoking. The study was undertaken in three contrasting hospitals and based on a random sample of 300 student nurses. An initial postal questionnaire (response rate 84%) was followed by depth interviews of about 1I hr with twenty randomly selected students and an analysis of existing sickness and absence records.