Decreasing the prevalence of smoking among Finnish physicians

Abstract

A postal survey of smoking habits was conducted in a population of Finnish physicians between October and December 1990. Among the 1,623 surveyed (1,231 responses, a 75.8% response rate) the prevalence of daily smoking among male physicians was 10% while in females it was 6%. Another 15% (6% of females) smoked occasionally. Smoking was more prevalent among elderly physicians. Daily smoking among physicians has decreased since 1969, when the daily smoking prevalence was 24% among male respondents and 17% among females. In addition, according to the survey, Finnish physicians often advice their patients to stop smoking if they have a disease, disorder or complaint for which the prognosis has already been reported to be associated with smoking.