Aim: The World Health Organization called tobacco use a \"tobacco epidemic\" and identified it as the number one preventable cause of death. This study aimed to investigate the tobacco product use and dependence levels of physicians who are role models for society. Methods: The study was conducted with physicians working at Alanya Research and Training Hospital using an online survey between March and September 2024. Sociodemographic data, tobacco product use status, nicotine dependence levels, and attitudes toward quitting smoking among physicians were questioned. Their dependence levels were measured with the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence. Results: A total of 218 physicians participated in the study, 61.5% of whom were male, and 38.5% were female. While 63.30% of the participants were under the age of 40, 51.4% were married, and 48.6% were single. The rate of men using tobacco products (37.6%) was higher than that of women (13.3%). The difference between the rates of men (25.5%) and women (64.3%) who quit tobacco products was statistically significant. The relationship between marital status and tobacco product use was statistically significant (p=0.039). Nicotine dependence levels were higher in the participants over 50 years of age than in those under 30 years of age. Conclusion: The tobacco product use frequency of the physicians who participated in this study was similar to the frequency in the general population. Raising awareness among physicians about the harms of tobacco use before and after their graduation may contribute to reducing their frequency of tobacco product use.
SARIKAN et al. (Wed,) studied this question.