Smoking behavior and opinions of French general practitioners

This report examines smoking prevalence, sociodemographic factors, and the opinions of French general practitioners (GPs) about tobacco control policies. Data from the CFES (Comité Français d'Éducation pour la Santé) national survey on general practitioners included 1013 respondents. The questionnaire was administered by telephone and a response rate of 65% was attained. Instrumentation included variables related to medical practice, sociodemographic characteristics, and opinions about health behavior. Thirty-four percent of physicians were current smokers. A higher proportion of males smoked compared to women (36.1% vs. 24.9%, p < 0.01), and they consumed on average more cigarettes per day (11.2 vs. 8 cigarettes/day, p < 0.05). Slightly more than 52% of physicians regarded their role in reducing nicotine addiction to be important. Doctors who believed that the physician's role was limited were less likely to advise pregnant women to stop smoking (odds ratio = 0.39, p < 0.001), and nonsmokers were more supportive of bans on smoking in public places. Despite the high prevalence of smoking among French physicians, they can still play an important role in reducing smoking among their patients. Medical school curriculum and continuing medical education programs focusing on prevention and cessation in France should be strengthened to help reduce smoking rates among physicians and the general population.