Chronic Disease Status and Physician Advice to Quit Smoking

The negative health consequences of cigarette smoking and tobacco smoke exposure are well documented, as are the additional detrimental impacts on individuals with chronic health conditions. Advice from a physician to quit smoking increases the chance of long-term abstinence by nearly one-third. This presentation examines the relationship between chronic disease status (here, whether or not an individual has a positive diagnosis for asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes) and physician advice to quit smoking among adults (age 18+) in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Data presented are from a biennial telephone survey of over 10,000 households conducted in 2006. The survey addresses a wide range of health topics including insurance coverage, health care access, and alcohol and tobacco use. Results: Analysis shows that smokers with chronic disease (CD) are more likely than those without CD to have seen a doctor in the past year (91.3% vs. 74.7%). Smokers with CD are also more likely to report physician advice to quit, and are nearly 10 percent more likely to report a quit attempt than those without CD. Results suggest physician advice may contribute to the increasing quit attempts and declining smoking rates in this region, particularly among those with CD. Recommendation: Future research should examine whether physicians are following the Clinical Practice Guidelines recommendation of using 5 A's: Ask each patient about smoking at each visit, assess the patient's readiness and interest in quitting, advising the patient to quit, offering assistance, and arranging for follow-up.