Workplace tobacco policies and smoking cessation practices of physicians

Objective: To further our understanding of the workplace smoking policies and smoking cessation practices of physicians in Nigeria. Design: Cross-sectional survey distributed to 619 physicians practicing in two teaching hospitals in southwestern Nigeria. Participants: Three-hundred-seventy-three physicians who returned completed surveys. Main Outcome Measures: Physician's self-reported workplace smoking policies, attitudes toward smoking cessation, and use of recommended smoking cessation guidelines/policies. Results: Physicians rated quitting as "extremely important." The majority assessed their patients smoking status over the past three months (81%) and thought counseling smokers would help them quit (95%). However, <1% prescribed pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation in the last three months. Significant differences were found in the workplace smoking policies of the two teaching hospitals (p<0.001). Differences were also found in the attitudes and smoking cessation practices of physicians in Hospital A and Hospital B. Conclusions: Physicians are aware of smoking and the importance of quitting but few have guidelines/policies to assist their patients with quitting. Workplace smoking policies appear to impact the smoking cessation attitudes and practices of physicians in Nigeria. Encouraging the adoption of workplace smoking restrictions, as well as training physicians to use recommended smoking cessation interventions, is critical to addressing the tobacco epidemic in Nigeria.