title: Smoking habits among physicians in two Gulf countries.
abstract: The smoking habit of physicians in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait were studied as first step towards surveying the habit among medical professionals. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Kuwait between January-June 1990. Out of the 300 physicians who were contacted 252 (84%) completed the questionnaires, 190 (75%) were males and 62 (25%) were females. Among male physicians, current smokers were 86 (45.3%), ex-smokers were 34 (17.9%) and non-smokers were 70 (36.8%), while among the female physicians 10 (16%) were smokers and 52 (84%) were non-smokers. Also, a cross-sectional study was conducted between December 1991-November 1992 to identify the extent of smoking among physicians in UAE. Of the 300 physicians, 275 (91.6%) responded, 214 (77.8%) were males and 61 (22.2%) were females. Among the males, current smokers were 94 (43.9%), ex-smokers were 32 (14.9%) and non-smokers were 88 (41.2%), while among the females 5 (8.2%) were smokers, 3 (4.9%) were ex-smokers and 53 (86.9%) were non-smokers. Most important factors responsible for non-smoking doctors for not taking up smoking were: 'Protection of health', 'Self-discipline' and 'To set a good example to others'. The majority of physicians in UAE (91.3%) and Kuwait (75.6%) strongly agreed that smoking is hazardous to health. The results revealed that less than 50% of physicians provide information to over 70% of smoking patients. The majority of physicians and health professionals were aware of association between smoking and various diseases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, UAE University, Al-Ain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bener
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014479:United Arab Emirates / Q000453:epidemiology