Survey shows many doctors smoke in China

Los Angeles -- A survey that found many of China's physicians smoke has prompted the government to initiate an anti-smoking campaign aimed at doctors.

The University of California-Los Angeles survey -- said to be the first of its kind -- showed 23 percent of China's 3,552 hospital-based physicians were smokers, substantially higher than the U.S. total of 3.3 percent and also higher than in Japan, where 20.2 percent of physicians smoke.

The researchers said their findings are noteworthy because doctors who smoke are much less likely than non-smoking doctors to advise patients to quit.

As a result of the survey, the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention instituted an anti-smoking campaign that targets physicians and medical students and promotes smoke-free hospitals.

The study that included scientists from UC-Davis, UC-Berkeley and the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.