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OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of smoking among health care workers (HCWs) at King Hussein Medical Center (KHMC), the biggest tertiary-care center in Jordan.METHODS: Data were collected using a self-reported questionnaire on cigarette smoking distributed among 760 HCWs. Questions were designed to collect various demographic parameters and different aspects related to cigarette smoking. RESULTS:Six hundred HCWs returned the completed questionnaire. Responders were divided into 3 groups; physicians, 260 (43%); nurses, 250 (42%); and other HCWs, 90 (13%). Mean age (AESD) for the whole sample was 35.3 AE 6.9 years.Men constituted 52%. The overall prevalence of smoking was 65%. Fifty-six percent of smokers smoked daily, with a mean consumption of 10 cigarettes per day.Smoking was more common among men (82%) than women (47%). The 31-to 40-year age group constituted nearly half the population studied; 58% of HCWs in this category were current smokers. In the physician group, the highest smoking rate was observed among family practitioners working in the emergency department (75%). Of the internists, 44% were current smokers. There was no statistical difference between the resident and specialist subgroups in this category (P 5 .45). All pulmonologists were nonsmokers, the second-lowest smoking rate was seen in the dermatologist subgroup (10%). The women in the nursing group had a smoking rate of 17% compared with the 49% of the men in the nursing group who smoked. In the other HCW group, 70% smoked cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS:

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Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic granulomatous disease involving one or more multiple organ systems, characterised by the histologic finding of noncaseating epitheloid cell granulomas. This is the first report of familial sarcoidosis in Jordan. We report a mother and her son who Presented with bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy and lung infiltrates. Sarcoidosis is a rare disease in Jordan. We reported thirty-three cases of sarcoidosis(1). Although the familial tendency is reported in many studies(2), this was not the case in our study. Though the etiology is unknown; both Prevalence of sarcoidosis in different ethnic groups and familial occurrence of the disease strongly suggest the hypothesis of a possible genetic predisposition(3).

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