Introduction: Successful interventions to reduce the high rate of smoking among male physicians in China might contribute to reduction in tobacco use in the country overall. Better characterization of smoking, barriers to quitting, and smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and patient practices in this physician population will help plan such interventions and provide baseline data to evaluate their effectiveness.
Methods: A self-administered survey of smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and patient practices was conducted among health care professionals in 2 large teaching hospitals in China.
Results: Of 103 male physicians, those who smoked (n = 51) had a more limited knowledge of smoking-related disease and were less likely to advise patients to quit smoking compared with nonsmoking physicians (n = 52). More than one-fourth (29%) of nonsmoking physicians accepted gift cigarettes, and these physicians were less likely to ask their patients about their smoking status than those who did not accept gift cigarettes. Seventy-five percent of smokers reported that their hospitals did not help them quit, and only 19% reported receiving training in how to help their patients quit.
Conclusion: High rates of smoking, gifting of cigarettes, limited support for physician quitting, and limited training on cessation approaches may compromise the ability of male physicians in China to effectively treat their patients who smoke.