Smoking Status of Family Physicians and Their Attitude on Smoking Cessation

Özet

Objectives: Quitting smoking plays a vital role in preventing chronic diseases. Family physicians have an im- portant role in smoking cessation processes. This study aimed to investigate the smoking status of family phy- sicians 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 vol- untarily answer the questions in the survey. Results: Total 237 physicians filled out the questionnaires and 133 (56.1%) of participants was male. The num- ber 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 practic- ing 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. Conclusion: Family physicians need to be encouraged to quit smoking and provide smoking cessation counseling.