Hindawi Publishing Corporation ISRN Pulmonology Volume 2013, Article ID 518560, 4 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/518560 Research Article Tobacco Smoking Habits, Attitudes, and Beliefs among Albanian Nurse Students Ylli Vakeffliu, 1 Silvana Bala, 1 Rudina Pirushi, 2 Kujtime Vakeffliu, 3 Jul Bushati, 4 and Andrea S. Melani 5 1 Pneumologia, University Hospital Shefqet Ndroqi, Tirana, Albania 2 Nurse Department, Tirana Medical University, Tirana, Albania 3 University Hospital Madre Teresa, Tirana, Albania 4 Nurse Course, Kristal University, Tirana, Albania 5 Fisiopatologia Respiratoria, Azienda Ospedaliera Senese, Policlinico delle Scotte, Viale Bracci 3, 53100 Siena, Italy Correspondence should be addressed to Andrea S. Melani; a.melani@ao-siena.toscana.it Received 9 October 2013; Accepted 24 November 2013 Academic Editors: R. El-Zein and Y. Shibata Copyright © 2013 Ylli Vakefiu et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Available information about tobacco smoking habits, attitudes, and beliefs among Albanian nurse students shows some discrepancies and requires further investigation. Material and Methods. Cross-sectional school-based survey using a self- administered anonymous questionnaire in the Tirana Nurse University in December 2012 about tobacco smoking habits, attitudes, and beliefs. Results. Sixty hundred ffy one students (mean age 20.0 years; males 19%, females 81%) completed the questionnaire with an overall response rate of 87%. Current smokers were 19%; of this group, 37% of males and 49% of females were occasional smokers. Among current smokers, males smoked more than females (46% versus 13%;  < 0.01). Te knowledge about smoking was generic; only a part (24%) of students reported having received a formal specifc training on smoking related issues. Te percentage of current smokers who reported at least one serious attempt to quit was 64%. Most students (78%) reported recent exposure to second hand smoke at home. Most students (84%) were felt to be a model of healthy lifestyle, but only a part (42% of the total) was recognized to have a role in advising smokers to quit. Conclusions. Smoking habits of Albanian nurse students are not higher than those of other European countries and Albanian population of similar age and gender. Our students showed many positive attitudes towards tobacco. Targeted training about smoking related issues should be mandatory in nursing schools. 1. Introduction Tobacco smoking is a major preventable cause of disease and death worldwide. Te World Health Organization (WHO) encourages smoking monitoring and control programmes [1]. Health caregivers’ (HCGs) tobacco smoking is important not only for their own health, but also for their exemplary behavioural role. People see HCGs as models for healthy lifestyles, including tobacco smoking. Moreover, HCGs who smoke advise against smoking less frequently than those who do not smoke. Nurses are the largest professional group among health caregivers and work in close physical proximity to patients with great responsibility for obtaining a smoke- free society. Student nurses’ smoking habits, attitudes, and knowledge have a key role to understand the dynamics of future smoking among general population. Te Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) [2] has been organized by WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Canadian Public Health Association to monitor smoking habits, beliefs, and attitudes of 3rd year HCG students and enhance tobacco smoking control in low- and middle-income countries, including Albania [3]. Albania has approximately 3,600,000 inhabitants and one of the lowest per capita income in Europe and is a predominantly Muslim though largely secular Eastern Euro- pean country in transition from rigidly structured socialism to a market-oriented system. Smoking rates among Albanian adolescents are not higher than those of other European countries [4, 5]. However, the fall of communism promptly