Prevalence of tobacco use, legal awareness and control attitudes among healthcare students, professionals and staff: a multicentric study in India.

Background: Tobacco use poses a significant global health challenge, particularly within the healthcare sector. This study assessed tobacco use prevalence, legal awareness, control attitudes and the need for greater emphasis on tobacco control in healthcare curricula among professionals, students and staff in Eastern India, specifically in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Methods: In July and August 2023, an extensive online survey was conducted across 24 tertiary healthcare institutions involving medical, dental and nursing students, as well as faculty, resident physicians, nursing professionals and support staff.

Results: The study revealed that 15.9% of participants currently use tobacco, with 9.6% reporting daily use. Notably, non-users demonstrated higher awareness of tobacco-related laws compared to users. Multifactor logistic regression analysis identified several determinants of tobacco use including age, sex, marital status, occupation, family income and geographic origin. A significant finding was that less knowledge about tobacco laws correlated strongly with higher rates of tobacco use. Furthermore, regional variations were observed, with a lower prevalence of tobacco use in participants from southern states.

Conclusions: Our findings underscore the necessity of integrating comprehensive tobacco education into healthcare curricula and reinforcing awareness campaigns to effectively mitigate tobacco use within this critical sector.