Tobacco Smoking Among School Personnel in Romania, Teaching Practices and Resources Regarding Tobacco Use Prevention

Abstract

The study was conducted to collect baseline information on tobacco use, knowledge and attitudes of school personnel toward tobacco, to evaluate the existence and effectiveness of tobacco control policies in schools, and to assess training and materials requirements for implementing tobacco prevention and control interventions. All schools from Romania containing 6th, 7th, and 8th grade that contained 40 or more students were included in the sampling frame. 50 schools were sampled to participate in the study. All school personnel in the selected schools were eligible to participate in the survey. The survey procedure was designed to ensure confidentiality and voluntary participation. We found that more than two thirds of school personnel had ever smoked tobacco, with men significantly outnumbering women, and more than one thirds of them are current smokers. Also, it appears that school policies regarding tobacco use are not being translated into effective measures for implementation. Despite school policies, tobacco products could still be purchased either within school premises or close by. An important aspect brought out is the need to train teachers on these issues, and the importance of providing specific teaching and learning material on related topics. Only a small proportion of teachers had ever received such training. This is an area where is a need to build infrastructure as well as put capacity building measures in place. The study conducted with the methodology provided by CDC offers comparable data at international level and, also a national start point in the process of monitoring tobacco use among school personnel.