SS 13.30-15.00 Special sessions

SMOKING BEHAVIOURS AMONG POLISH MEDICAL STUDENTS AND DOCTORS

Heath care professionals, especially medical doctors, form the most important background for programmes for primary prevention of tobacco-related diseases. Their attitudes toward tobacco often influence not only changes in health behaviour of the population, but also effectiveness of intervention programmes.

In the late 80s and early 90s, the Cancer Centre in Warsaw carried out population surveys regarding patterns and dynamics of attitudes toward tobacco smoking among doctors and students of medicine. These studies have shown that: (1) the current medical education system does not have beneficial influence on attitudes toward smoking - the majority of students begins to smoke regularly during university; (2) the frequency of cigarette smoking of doctors and medical students is high compared to that in other countries of Europe; (3) tobacco smoking among doctors is more frequent where level of health education and health care is lower, e.g. in rural areas compared to urban; (4) among women surgeons and gynaecologists, smoking indicators are higher than in the general population; (5) in order to change the attitudes of doctors and medical students about tobacco smoking, it is necessary to introduce a nationwide programme for primary prevention and involve the whole medical community in its implementation.

Smoke Free Europe Conference Abstracts - 19 SEP 1996

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