Assessment of dental faculty, staff, and students on knowledge of health effects associated with tobacco use.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the knowledge of the health effects associated with tobacco use among dental school faculty, staff, and students. METHODS: A 30-item survey instrument was pilot-tested to ensure content validity prior to implementation. A total of 724 surveys were distributed through campus mail. RESULTS: A total of 344 (47.51%) survey instruments were returned. 71.8 percent of respondents reported using tobacco sometime during their life, 21.8 percent had smoked at least one cigarette a day for the past 30 days, but only 8.4 percent considered themselves to be smokers. Of the 71.8% reported using tobacco sometime during their lifetime, 49.7 percent reported being very confident about their ability to quit using tobacco, 32.6 percent reported that it would be unlikely for their tobacco use to result in negative health effects, and 31.7 percent reported that they were not worried about negative health effects associated with tobacco use. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals a lack of knowledge of dental school faculty, staff, and students on the negative personal health effects associated with tobacco use.