Evaluation of the Opinions of Family Physicians on Some Tobacco Products

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the opinions of family physicians, who have an important place in preventive health services, on some tobacco products. The sample of the descriptive study was composed of family physicians working in 408 family health centers serving Samsun, Turkey. The data were obtained by distributing a questionnaire prepared by the researchers to volunteer family physicians during in-service trainings organized by the Samsun Provincial Directorate of Health in February and March 2019. In all, 322 (79%) family physicians who participated in the trainings were included in the study. The average age of the participating physicians was 45.0 +/- 7.6 years; 61.5% of them were male. More than one third (36.0%) of family physicians said that they had never smoked, while 23.6% of them were current smokers. Most (85.0%) said that they knew what an electronic cigarette was, 94.7% of them were familiar with hookahs, and 9.0% knew about I Quit Ordinary Smoking (IQOS). It is important to inform all healthcare professionals, and especially family physicians, about those products marketed by the tobacco industry as "less harmful" than cigarettes. It is thought that providing appropriate counseling services to these professionals will contribute to the fight against tobacco use.