AIM: Taxi drivers are among the occupational groups with the highest smoking prevalence and exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). This study aimed to measure breath CO levels of some taxi drivers working in Ankara and to find out some associated factors (if any).
METHOD: The descriptive study was carried out with 173 taxi drivers from 14 different taxi stations in the center of Ankara. Data was collected by face to face interviews with a standart questionnaire, while breath CO was measured by a Pi-CO Smokerlyser. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data, whereas chi-square, independant samples t-test and One-Way ANOVA were used to compare groups by SPSS 15.0 statistical package programme.
RESULTS: In the study, all of the taxi drivers (n=173) were male with a mean age of 39.2±9.6 years. Of the drivers, 58.4% were current smokers, whereas 75.1% were exposed to enviromental tobacco smoke. The frequency of indoor smoking in the taxi stations, taxis and drivers’ homes were 48.0%, 45.1%, and 59.0%, respectively. The mean breath CO level of the drivers was 16.9±12.8 ppm. CO level was positively associated with the current smoking status, total years of smoking, number of cigarettes smoked per day and passive exposure to tobacco smoke, whereas the association was negative with the elapsed time from the last cigarette smoked (p0.05).
CONCLUSION: Results of the study provide evidence in support of the previous literature that smoking is one of the most important sources of carbonmonoxide. Interventions such as awareness raising trainings, referral of smokers willing to quit smoking to smoking cessation centers and screening programmes for smoking related diseases are needed to be implemented in collaboration with the relevant drivers’ associations.
Key words: Carbon Monoxide, Driver, Tobacco, Passive Exposure Article Language: Turkish English
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