Introduction:
The current study examined characteristics and behaviours of employees who reported being smokers at a private college in Greece in 2018 and compare occasional and regular smokers for differences prior to the implementation of a smoke-free campus.

Methods:
A sub-analysis of 50 smokers was conducted from a sample of 219 college employees. Smokers were categorized into two groups; occasional (<20 cigarettes in last 30 days) and regular (>20 cigarettes in last 30 days). Characteristics and behaviours in relation to smoking and tobacco control policies were presented as percentages. All comparisons were conducted using Fishers Exact test with significant p<0.05.

Results:
Of 22.8% smokers, 15.5% were regular and 7.3% occasional smokers. No differences in gender (p=0.591), age (p=0.856) or employee status (p=0.173) were found between groups. 63% of occasional and 44% of regular smokers reported smoking <10 cigarettes/day while another 44% of regular smokers reported <20 cigarette/day. 44% of smokers had attempted to quit smoking at least once, while 50% of occasional and 71% of regular smokers reported they wished to quit.

81% of occasional smokers reported they don’t smoke on outdoor school grounds in contrast to 65% of regular smokers reported that they do (p=0.005). 88% of occasional smokers and only 24% of regular smokers reported they never smoke in front of their students (p<0.001) while another 27% of regular smokers reported they feel bad when they do.

Smokers were highly aware of health effects of smoking (p=0.704) and a majority agreed with the smoking ban in public places (p=0.310). In addition, 47% of occasional and 26% of regular smokers were willing to contribute to the implementation of a smoke-free campus.


Conclusions:
Smokers at the college were highly aware of the harms of smoking, wished to quit and had positive attitudes towards implementation of smoke-free legislation, indicating their readiness for a smoke-free campus.