The Knowledge, Behaviour and Attitudes on Smoking of Student Teachers in a College in Northern Ireland

All students were given the questionnaire, to which the response rate was 72.4 per cent. Only 10.7 per cent were smokers, who on average smoked eight cigarettes a day. The knowledge level was reasonably high and fairly uniform among different groups, by sex, by year, and smokers versus non-smokers. While some students professed ignorance on specific points, there was relatively little misinformation. On the whole, the students showed a positive and responsible approach in their attitude towards smoking in school and towards education about smoking and health within the curriculum, although some differences between smokers and non-smokers were evident.