Smoking Status of Family Physicians and Their Attitude on Smoking Cessation

INTRODUCTION: Quitting smoking plays a vital role in preventing chronic diseases. Family physicians have an important role in smoking cessation processes. This study aimed to investigate the smoking status of family physicians who were working in the Family Health Centers in Istanbul and their knowledge and attitudes toward smoking cessation.

METHODS: In this study, an online survey was used to collect data from family physicians in Istanbul in 2019. The survey questions were sent to the family physicians using an e-mail and the physicians were asked to voluntarily answer the questions in the survey.
RESULTS: Total 237 physicians filled out the questionnaires and 133 (56.1%) of participants was male. The number of participants with response to smoking status as current smokers, former smokers, and never smokers were 46 (21.1%), 45 (20.5%), and 128 (58.4%), respectively. Among the participants, 37 (15.6%) were family physicians who were specialists, 43 (18.2) were aged between 41 and 45 years, and 122 (51.5%) were practicing family medicine for 7 to 9 years. The median Fagerström score of smokers was 3.0 [5.0] points. Nicotine replacement therapy was the most prominent application in the smoking cessation process according to 195 (84.3%) participants.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Family physicians need to be encouraged to quit smoking and provide smoking cessation counseling.