A Survey of Bangladeshi Doctors' Attitudes and Beliefs about Smoking

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that smoking is the major cause of death worldwide. To understand physicians' attitudes toward smoking, we devised various statements and questions for this study. These statements and questions will allow us to interpret physician attitudes toward smoking. The establishment of smoking termination programs relates specifically to physicians, which may also be a significant strategy for enhancing patients' treatment procedures. In this study, 91% of the physicians agreed that children under age 16 should not have access to cigarettes. Approximately 80% of the surveyed physicians stated that law enforcement to stop people from buying cigarettes is essential for raising awareness and keeping people away from this deadly disease-causing agent. Survey data showed that more than 90% of physicians strongly support awareness programmes regarding smoking's deadly effects to increase awareness. Physicians who are current smokers are providing less treatment and precautions than physicians who are nonsmokers or former smokers. More than 85% of the physicians agreed that the academic curriculum should contain harmful information about smoking; thus, from the beginning, people became accustomed to understanding the negative impacts of smoking. Although approximately 90% of the physicians said that they encouraged their patients not to smoke, the percentage should be 100%, as smoking causes various deadly diseases.