Increase in cigarette smoking and decline of anti-smoking counselling among Chinese physicians: 1987-1996

Four hundred and ninety-three Chinese physicians were surveyed in 1996 on their cigarette smoking patterns, frequency and methods of anti-smoking counselling in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. It was found that 61.3% of the male and 12.2% of the female physicians were current cigarette smokers, an increase of 20.4% for males and 149.0% for females in comparison with findings among physicians in the same city in 1987. Also, about one-third (30.2%) of the smokers reported a daily consumption of 20 cigarettes or more, showing a 23% increase. In addition, two-thirds (68.6%) of the physicians counselled their patients about cigarette smoking in the past year, representing a 25% decrease. In the 1987 sample, physicians' age and cigarette smoking status predicted the frequency of their anti-smoking counselling. In the present sample, these two variables are no longer associated with physicians' counselling frequency. Unchanged over the 9 years are the strong associations between physicians' counselling frequency and whether they perceived themselves as the most influential people in helping patients quit smoking, and whether they perceived their past counselling experiences as successful. In conclusion, the findings of the present study have provided valuable information on Chinese physicians' cigarette smoking patterns and their anti-smoking counselling practices. The dramatic increase in cigarette smokers among Chinese physicians, especially female physicians, in the past 9 years is alarming. The trend seems to be that more physicians are cigarette smokers now than 9 years ago, and fewer care to counsel their patients about cigarette smoking. These critical changes have raised new themes regarding future anti-smoking strategies in China.