Evaluación de la influencia que ejerce la facultad de medicina en los futuros médicos respecto al tabaquismo

Consensus Document on Medical Faculty Education on the Treatment of Smoking

We report the results of a consensus reached by an expert group of representatives from different medical societies in Latin America on the objectives, competencies (knowledge, and skills), content, and duration of smoking cessation education in Latin American medical schools. The document discusses the following aspects: epidemiology, nicotine dependence, factors for initiation and maintenance of tobacco use, smoking-related disorders, diagnosis, minimal intervention, non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions for smoking cessation, and prevention of smoking.

[Autonomy and heteronomy, a necessary alliance to address smoking cessation. Views of professionals and patients]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the perception of professionals and patients with regard to ethical issues involved in addressing the habit of smoking in primary care consultations.

METHOD

A qualitative study was designed, consisting of 12 semi-structured interviews with professionals, 7 interviews with patients and 2 focus groups with 6 professionals and 7 primary care patients (a total of 32 participants). An intentional sampling was conducted, including profiles of professionals and patients of both sexes, different ages and experience in relation to smoking. A content analysis was performed with an inductive analytical approach from data to the creation of theoretical categories.

RESULTS

Four main categories were identified: 1) ethical issues related to the responsibility of the professional when treating patients who smoke; 2) issues related to attitude to patients who smoke; 3) issues related to fair and equitable distribution of resources and to the role of the different levels of government in relation to the control of smoking; and 4) issues related to smokers' autonomy regarding their habit and smoking cessation.

CONCLUSIONS

An alliance is needed between the ethics that support the autonomy of patients who smoke and the regulation of tobacco consumption. This approach should be included in clinical training programmes dealing with tobacco use, dependence and cessation.

Prevalence and attitude towards smoking in first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students in Spain: PRECOTABAC study

AIM OF THIS STUDY

The aim of this study is to calculate smoking prevalence among first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students in Spain, and to describe their attitude towards giving up smoking.

METHODS

Cross-sectional multi-center study using an ad hoc self-administered questionnaire in first, third and fifth-year pharmacy students at seven Spanish universities. Bivariate analysis with chi-square and Student's t-test, statistical significance p<0.05.

RESULTS

Smoking prevalence: 34.92%. The smokers smoke 31.04 (SD=43.182) cigarettes/week on average. Pharmacy students have a positive attitude towards giving up smoking, with differences between year groups (p=0.036).

CONCLUSIONS

Four in ten pharmacy students in Spain smoke every day by the time they finish their degree. Smoking prevalence is lower in the first few years of the degree and increases over time. Students also have a positive attitude towards giving up smoking, and are in favor of measures that can be taken to try to stop people smoking.

Predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors associated with smoking relapse among hospital workers

OBJECTIVES

A better identification of the determinants of smoking relapse among hospital workers would be helpful in development of more effective interventions to decrease the frequency of relapses in this group. The aim of this study was to determine the predisposing enabling, and reinforcing factors associated with smoking relapse among workers at a university hospital.

METHODS

This was a case-control study based on a self-administered and structured questionnaire. Cases were all those workers who had relapsed after at least 6 months without smoking, and controls were ex-smokers without relapse for more than 6 months. We obtained the following information: sociodemographic and tobacco consumption characteristics and a list of predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors.

RESULTS

There were 342 respondents: 114 cases and 228 controls. The variables significantly and independently associated with increased risk of relapse were smoking is my vice (OR=4.02), I'll be able to quit smoking whenever I want (OR=3.43), I have no intention to quit forever (OR=6.02), celebrations (OR=3.93) and weight gain (OR=10.61), while variables associated with lower risk were age (OR=0.88), health-care worker (OR=0.13), years of abstinence (OR=0.91), smoking is a useless habit (OR=0.19) and illness related to tobacco (OR=0.07).

CONCLUSIONS

Health programs against smoking in the hospital setting should include measures aimed at preventing relapse through behavioral support therapies and dietary control with particular attention to changes in factors related to lifestyle and false beliefs (predisposing factors).