Cigarette smoking among workers of a Bank

Objective To describe the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its associati on with other risk factors for chronic diseases among active workers of com munication and data processing centers of a Bank. Methods Cross-sectional study in a simple random sample of 647 active worke rs of the bank. The data were collected in the work environment, through se lf-administered questionnaires. Results The prevalence of cigarette smoking was 29.5% (95% Confidence Inter val (CI): 27.5%-31.5%), 31.1% (95% CI: 26.2%-35.8%) among merr and 27.8% (9 5%CI: 22.6%-32.9%) among women. On average, males started smoking at the ag e of 17.6 years and women at the age of 19.4. High prevalence of heavy smok ers Mas observed among men and women (53% and 42%, respectively: smoked mor e than 20 cigarettes per day). Smokers were older; more likely to be divorc ed separated and widowed, to have high blood pressure, to drink alcoholic b everages more often, and to exercise less often thaw to non-smokers. Those who gave up smoking were older; drank more alcoholic beverages, and were mo re often overweight. Conclusion The considerable frequency of smoking and other risk factors for chronic diseases among those workers may be an indication of the need for new strategies for health interventions. Opportunities for preventive actio ns, which are more effective and less costly, may have been lost.