Developing a Health Promotion Strategy for Tobacco Cessation in Occupational Settings in Kano State

Tobacco cessation in workplace settings offers access to large populations of smokers with the potential for peer and organisational support, yet structured workplace tobacco cessation programmes are rare in Nigerian industrial and commercial organisations. This study developed a health promotion strategy for tobacco cessation in occupational settings in Kano State, North West Nigeria. A strategy development methodology was employed, incorporating a needs assessment survey of 180 tobacco-using workers across five major manufacturing and commercial organisations in Kano Municipal and Nasarawa LGAs, a review of international workplace cessation programme models, and stakeholder consultations with occupational health officers and health promotion specialists. Needs assessment results showed a tobacco use prevalence of 22.8 percent among surveyed workers, with 68.3 percent of current smokers expressing willingness to quit if supported. Barriers to cessation included nicotine dependence (74.4 percent of smokers), lack of cessation support knowledge (67.1 percent), and stress at work (58.5 percent). The developed strategy encompasses six components: organisational tobacco-free policy adoption, brief cessation counselling training for occupational health staff, peer cessation support groups, nicotine replacement therapy provision through occupational health clinics, environmental health promotion materials, and quarterly tobacco use monitoring. The strategy was reviewed and validated by ten occupational health and health promotion experts. The study recommends pilot implementation in two organisations in Kano State with formal process and outcome evaluation.

Keywords: tobacco cessation, workplace health promotion, occupational health, Kano State, health strategy