Smoking habits among Israeli hospital doctors: a survey and historical review.
BACKGROUND
Smoking is a serious health issue worldwide. Smoking trends among physicians predict similar trends in the general population. Little is known about current smoking rates among physicians.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate current smoking trends a Israeli physicians.


METHODS
All practicing physicians at a tertiary university-affiliated medical center in central Israel were invited to complete a Web-based questionnaire on smoking habits and smoking-related issues via the institutional email. Findings were compared to those in the general population and between subgroups.


RESULTS
Of the 90 responders (53 male, 88 Jewish), 54 (60%) had never smoked, 21 (23.3%) were past smokers, and 15 (16.7%) were current smokers. The rate of current smokers was lower than in the general population. The proportion of current smokers was higher among residents than attending physicians and among physicians in surgical compared to medical specialties. Past smokers accounted for 17.9% of the residents (average age at quitting 26.2 years) and 28.1% of the attending hysicians (average age at quitting 33.0 years). Non-smokers more frequently supported harsh anti-smoking legislation.


CONCLUSIONS
The rate of smoking is lower in physicians than in the general population but has not changed over the last 15 years. Anti-smoking programs should particularly target physicians in surgical specialties.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Campus), Petah Tikva, affiliated with Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel. yotamyo@clalit.org.il
Yotam
Y
Shkedy
Raphael M
RM
Feinmesser
Aviram
A
Mizrachi
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044382:Population Groups; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000639:trends; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires