Summary:
Smoking is responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates in Spain. Smoking among healthcare professionals has a high impact on the general population´s habits.

The prevalence of smoking in Spain is high, and is steadily increasing especially in women. The purpose of our study is to find out the prevalence of smoking among nursing students at the University of Alcala, their knowledge and behavioural patterns with regard to smoking, as well as the availability of designated non-smoking areas at the nursing school premises, as well as in hospitals.
Methods:
In 2003 a descriptive, transversal study was performed on the nursing students attending the University of Alcala School of Nursing. A poll, consisting of a questionnaire on smoking habits, was used to carry out the study.
Results:
One hundred and fifty nine nursing students answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking was 37.34% (CI 95%: 29.8-48.88). No significant differences in prevalence were found throughout the three-year course programme. 18.34% were ex-smokers. As regards to the information and attitudes towards smoking, the results were far more encouraging than those among practising nurses.
Significant differences were found according to the consumption of tobacco, as illustrated by the higher percentage of smokers who held the opinion that the nurse´s smoking had little or no influence on the patients.
15,82% referred the availability of smoking areas in the nursing campus , 44.87% reported that they smoked in common areas within the nursing campus, and 87.05% stated that the previously mentioned tendencies are also common practice in the hospitals where they do their practical training.
Conclusions:
Smoking among nursing students is high. However, it appears to have decreased when compared to data previously reported in the literature. Compliance with current regulations on the availability of non-smoking areas in our university  and in hospitals where practical training is conducted  is astonishingly low.