Nurses’ experiences of smoking and the impact on themselves and their patients

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Cigarette smoking is a major cause of preventable premature mortality worldwide, with well-known health consequences. Shift work, and other factors have been shown to have an impact on smoking behaviour in nurses. As health experts and promoters, nurses have an important role to play in promoting smoking cessation and tobacco control. <bold>Methods:</bold> Over a 3-month period registered nurses and other NHS workers were targeted via social media/flyer at nursing conferences and invited to be interviewed to discuss their smoking habits, the impact on others and smoking cessation. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. <bold>Results:</bold> 10 participants were interviewed from multiple settings. Four themes were identified: perceived benefits of smoking, stopping smoking, smoking and health, and smoking and patients. Several perceived benefits to smoking such as, the increased likelihood of breaks and opportunities to socialise “the only way to get a break is to smoke”. Many do not feel the need to stop while healthy, many cited the impact on family as a reason to quit. Many participants did not discuss smoking with patients and felt unable to advise on smoking cessation “I find it difficult to advise them morally and ethically as I’m a smoker too” however some felt more able to build rapport and empathy with smokers. <bold>Conclusions:</bold> A small proportion of nursing staff still smoke, there is still a perception of benefits to being a smoker in a nursing environment. For some being a smoker impacts on the ability to advise patients about smoking cessation although this can increase rapport for some. Funded by The Burdett Trust for Nursing