Tobacco use and cessation among medical students in Croatia - results of the Global Health Professionals Pilot Survey (GHPS) in Croatia, 2005

Objectives: To collect information from third year medical students attending Croatian medical schools on prevalence of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, desire to quit using tobacco, attitudes and training concerning counselling patients on tobacco cessation. Methods: Global Health Professionals Survey (GHPS) was conducted in 2005 in all four Croatian medical schools with a census of third year medical students (404 out of 409, response rate 98.5 %) using an anonymous, confi dential and self-reported questionnaire. Results: More than two thirds (67.4 %) of medical students in Croatia have ever smoked cigarettes, and over one third (36.6 %) are smoking cigarettes currently. Half of the medical students (50.4 %) report exposure to second hand smoke at home. Less than a third of current smokers (30.9 %) have received cessation assistance when they tried to quit. Conclusions: Our findings indicate significant tobacco use among medical students in Croatia. There is an urgent need to reduce this harmful behaviour through more comprehensive public health initiatives, provision of support for cessation among health professionals who smoke and provision of training to health professionals to assist their patients with cessation.