[Italian cardiologists and XXXX smoking. A survey on the prevalence and knowledge of smoking and strategies for smoking cessation in a cohort of Italian cardiologists].

@entity1 @entity286 @entity1187 @entity204 @entity65
BACKGROUND: @entity286 use is the single most preventable cause of @entity204 . Its cessation is the most cost-effective strategy for reducing long-term @entity65 and mortality. Although both healthcare professionals and the general population are aware of the detrimental effects of smoking on health, more than 25% of Italians are current smokers. Recent surveys showed that almost 50% of smoker @entity1 relapse to smoke after having been discharged for @entity1187 . Physicians who smoke may be a barrier for effective cessation interventions. Thus, it is important to assess cardiologists' attitude toward smoking habits and the implementation of smoking cessation programs. METHODS: The survey "Italian cardiologists and smoking habits" has been held in 2013 during the 44   National Congress of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) to assess cardiologists' smoking status, their level of knowledge about smoking cessation interventions and their involvement in the management of smoking cessation. Out of more than 1200 cardiologists attending the ANMCO congress, 610 subjects (aged 51    11 years) answered an anonymous 35-item questionnaire; they were asked to declare their smoking status (9.5% current smokers). RESULTS: Among doctors who attended the survey, 58% correctly indicated smoking as an addiction and 45% regularly advised their @entity1 to stop smoking. The majority of cardiologists (93%) reported a positive attitude toward smoking cessation strategies, 62% of them thought that cardiologists themselves should treat smoking dependence, though specific tools (70%) and education for the management of smoking cessation are lacking (66%). Two thirds of the entire sample of ANMCO cardiologists declared their willingness to participate in specialized educational programs. CONCLUSIONS: More than a half of Italian cardiologists are aware that smoking is an addiction. Although they feel themselves yet inadequate toward this approach, they are favorable to implement their own knowledge and skills toward smoking cessation.
