Awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and views on smoking cessation intervention among Japanese medical students.

OBJECTIVE

To clarify attitudes toward smoking, and views on smoking intervention among medical students, as well as to teach them the harmful effects of smoking.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We carried out an anonymous questionnaire among 2nd and 5th year Japanese medical students and 1,137 of them responded.

RESULTS

Smoking prevalence was 25.1% in men and 8.8% in women in the 2nd year and 43.1% and 9.3%, respectively, in the 5th year. Most respondents thought smoking is harmful to health, but smokers were more likely to think it is not so harmful. In both groups, 97% of the respondents knew lung cancer was related to smoking. Apart from this, knowledge of smoking-related diseases (pulmonary emphysema, coronary heart disease, peptic ulcer, and neonatal death) increased by the 5th year but the rates of recognition were generally less than 50%. Many of them learned about the deleterious effects mainly at places other than medical class (80.2% in the 2nd, 44.9% in the 5th year). About 90% intended to perform smoking intervention in the future, but only one-third were actively interested. More than 70% of the respondents thought that doctors should carry out smoking cessation advice depending on the disease, while the rate of those who thought so irrespective of the disease did not reach 20%. Smokers thought less actively about smoking intervention than current nonsmokers.

CONCLUSION

The awareness of the harmful effects of smoking and intention to perform smoking intervention in the future as doctors seemed unsatisfactory among Japanese medical students.