Education programs on smoking prevention and smoking cessation for students and housestaff in U.S. medical schools.

To determine the extent and characteristics of educational programs relating to smoking in U.S. medical schools, surveys of educational curricula were performed in 1983 and 1984. The first survey showed that 34% of medical schools had no course offerings on smoking for medical students, and very few addressed smoking prevention and smoking cessation. In the following year, the percentage of schools with curriculum courses on smoking prevention and smoking cessation had risen to 64% and 56%, respectively. Planned education programs for housestaff, however, were present in only 30% and 25% of medical school-affiliated programs. Only one housestaff program (5%) was present in the group of medical schools that had no educational programs on smoking prevention or cessation for its medical students. More emphasis on education regarding smoking prevention and smoking cessation in U.S. medical schools and in housestaff training programs is required.