The task of nursing and risk of smoking.

A survey of hospital nurses was conducted to determine whether certain aspects of nurses' working and living conditions could explain their smoking practices. Nurses (246) of all grades answered a questionnaire about their smoking practices, job characteristics, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and anxieties. The prevalence of regular smoking was low among first and second year student nurses but reached 22% among final year students and 27% among staff nurses. Those nurses who reported stress at work, high and low overall job satisfaction, low lifestyle satisfaction and high anxiety about patients were more likely to smoke. The importance of these factors was especially marked among final year students. It seems that the changes in the life and work routine of nurses during their final year of training appear to increase their risk of regular smoking.