Le tabagisme des enseignants dans une commune du Sahel tunisien

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the scale of tobacco use among teachers in the district of Kalaa Kebira (a semi-urban region in the Tunisian Sahel). Methods The study design was descriptive and cross sectional, employing a self administered questionnaire given to 402 teachers. Results The response rate was 89%. The average age of respondents was 35.7 +/- 7.9 years. The global prevalence of smoking among teachers was 29.3% (men: 51.6%; women: 3.6%). 79% of smokers were addicted to nicotine according to the Fagerstrom test. Half of the teachers were poorly informed about the hazards of smoking and 77.9% of smoking teachers didn't refrain from smoking in front of their pupils. Conclusions The teachers' lack of knowledge limits their effectiveness both as a role model and information relay in the war against tobacco.