Over 50 percent of patients with circulatory disorders still smoke – lack of counselling to blame

Over half of smokers who have had at least one circulatory disorder continue to smoke. A study published today in the open access journal BMC Public Health reveals that lack of appropriate counselling may be to blame for the large proportion of smokers who do not quit although they know they have a circulatory disorder.

Ulrich John and colleagues from the University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany studied a random sample of 3,778 individuals who had smoked or were still smokers. Participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their health status, weight and exercise habits.

The results of the study show that 52.1% of the participants who had had a circulatory disorder still smoked. Among participants who reported having had three circulatory disorders, 28% still smoked. Only 3.4% of the smokers reported having received smoking cessation counselling within the previous 12 months.

Article:
Relation between awareness of circulatory disorders and smoking in a general poulation health examination
Ulrich John, Christian Meyer, Monika Hanke, Henry Volzke and Anja Schumann
BMC Public Health (in press)

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