The Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Pulmonary Function and Respiratory Symptoms on Nigerian Firefighters

Prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function status of firefighters in Benin City, Nigeria

“…Although, we did not explore the use of personal protective equipment by the firefighters in this study, Alkali et al in their study in Lagos in South West, Nigeria, reported that none of the 201 firefighters in the Federal Fire Service wore a protective device when fighting fires. 6 We report that the spirometric indices (FEV1, FVC and PEF) were lower among the firefighters in the administrative department (though within normal range), in this study. The reason for this could probably be from the fact that the firefighters in the operations department were significantly taller than their counterparts in administrative department (173.4m versus 167.7m) and of the 18 female workers in the establishment 13 (72.2%) worked in the administrative department.…”

“…In the Lagos study, the respiratory symptoms were more prevalent among smokers compared to the nonsmoking firefighters. 6 Although, Jacquin et al did not find any statistical differences in respiratory impairments of smokers and nonsmoking firefighters, 14 we however, suggest that a smoking cessation programme and health education on the cumulative effects of smoke inhalation from firefighting and cigarette smoking should be instituted for firefighters in Nigeria. A limitation of this study is the small sample size utilized for the study even though it was a total population study.…”

“…This result contrasted with the result of an earlier study done in Lagos, Nigeria where the prevalence of respiratory symptoms was as high as 67.0%. 6 Possible reasons for our finding include the fact that the majority of the fire fighters had spent less than 10 years in the job and only 30.0% were smokers. A low prevalence of respiratory symptoms ranging from 0.7% (asthma attack) to 10.0% (wheeze) had also been reported in the Netherlands.…”

“…5 Alkali and Bandele while looking at the effect of cigarette smoking on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms among firefighters in Lagos, Nigeria, found a high prevalence of respiratory symptoms among the studied population. 6 The purpose of this research was to determine the lung function status and to look into the respiratory symptoms of the firefighters in Benin City, Nigeria.…”

Respiratory symptoms and pulmonary functions of firefighters in Ogun State, Nigeria: A preliminary report

“…There are few local data and studies done to look at this demographic in Nigeria and none were done in the western part of Nigeria where majority of the fire outbreak occur (8,9). This study aimed to fill this gap and improve the burden of knowledge in this group (10).…”