Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Smoking in Friends and Relatives of Patients in Emergency Room: A New Frontier in the Fight against Tobacco

Background: emergency rooms (ers) are usually crowded with friends and relatives (f&rs) of the patients. this experience may result in changes in smoking behaviors and create opportunities for smoking cessation interventions. the study aims to investigate these changes and offers a new frontier in the fight against smoking. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted in the ers of two universities in different cities. a questionnaire consisting of 18 questions was applied to f&rs of the emergency patients. statistical analysis was performed using jamovi program. findings: a total of 603 respondents were included in the study. of them, 71.3% were first-degree relatives, 51.7% waited 5 or more times in er before, and 68.6% spent 0-2 hours in a day around the er. upon witnessing patients in the ers, 53.4% of the f&rs had the idea of quitting smoking and 42.9% wanted to have smoking cessation therapy during their wait in the hospital. while 76.1% of the participants were not using different brands of cigarettes when offered in normal life, this rate was lower around the ers (64.6%) (p < 0.001). participants smoked 0.82 ± 0.34 cigarette per hour in normal life excluding sleeping time; this number raised almost 6 folds during the wait (4.85 ± 2.11) (p < 0.001). conclusion: f&rs smoked more during waiting around ers. however, they also expressed desire to quit smoking and receive smoking cessation intervention during the wait. providing smoking cessation counseling to f&rs in the er may be a valuable intervention.