By Manjulika Das Calcutta

Medical education has little effect on medical students' decision to start smoking, according to a recent research done in China.¹

Researchers questioned 1896 students from 12 Chinese universities--about half of whom were medical students--about their smoking habits and their perceptions of the harm and benefits of smoking. They found that that the prevalence of smoking does not differ significantly between medical and non-medical students and medical students were more likely (75.3%) to be occasional smokers than non-medical students (60.6%).

Shu-Hong Zhu, an author of the study and associate professor at the family and preventive medicine department of the University of California at San Diego said that smoking behaviour might be determined by two kinds of factor. Social norms regarding smoking for certain groups influence the decision to start smoking: "Our study has revealed that medical students, like any other college students in China, are increasingly expected to smoke, as they grow older. Medical education seems to help little in preventing them from taking up smoking," he said.

KATHARINE HESSE/GETTY

"So, what got you into medicine?"

"The second kind of factor influences the choice of how much to smoke. Medical education does seem to influence this decision making process. It appears that medical students try to control their consumption level by smoking fewer cigarettes. Their medical knowledge about the harm of smoking contributes to such a decision," he added.

"What is needed is a shift in societal norms regarding smoking, a shift that would make it easier not to smoke," Zhu said. "We recommend policies such as restricting smoking in public places and worksites, banning cigarette advertising, and raising cigarette taxes, in order to change social norms regarding smoking. Creating policies such as these is likely to be much more effective than trying to educate people about the harm of smoking," he added.

Its great treagedy to the world that the healer's own character is such that the people around him--who follow his/her advice now a days-- are giving him/her much value and respect.This smoking among many other factors is one important thing.I don't understand how these smoking medics will be able give advice to their patients to quit smoking and God knows what effect it will produce on the patient's pshycology.

It was a great shock for me to see majority of my seniors smoking during my first few days of medical school.The trend here is that many student who were non-smokers when enrolled in medical school become smokers by the time they leave the school.What I have found is that medicos smoke more than other students do. As per our school most of the students who smoke do to cope with the studies and to beat stress . As stress escalats during the exams so does smoking propertionately. So, smoking has been looked upon as sress reliever.

Smoking has now become a type of showmenship in public to impress upon others.This has recieved a boost by advertisement and posters and theatres.

But this would affect Medico's that I did not know when Iwas in school.But when I entered 1 st year of medical College, I found picture no different in our college than rest other faculties regarding smoking.

Not only common among students but our proffesors also ssmoked a lot

When i asked few of them that why do you smoke inspite of knowing the hazards of smoking and yourself advising patient to quit smoking? I was in a bit too shock to hear the answer.

They told me " Smoking gives us more than cancer and many other hazards we have learnt.MOst important it helps to relieve the stresses of work esp. in surgery and orhtopazedics where they are overburedened with work and get very few hrs of sleep and sometimes may not get.Its keeps up stemina and stimulated to work and sometimes without taking lunch and dineer they continue working with smoking and tea.IT decreases need of sleep."

To conclude smoking has become a habit and some people try to justify why they smoke? and some smoke just as showmenship. Immediate comcerns regarding measure to decrease smoking is very important.

For This a wholistic approach is very important with strong political will ban on advertisemnts, poster and theatre showing smoking, with ban on smoking in public places and advertisments and information on hazards of smoking be spread to people via health education.Heavy punishments be given on breach of rules will help to maintain law situations.

Well as the article points out the reason maybe that medicine does little to prevent medical students from smoking. I would say that it might be the stress and time intensive studies that play a role in putting many to this habit. Peer pressure is another factor and so is the societal norms.

It is strange that medical students see the disastrous effects of the diseases caused by smoking yet they keep to their habit. I think this maybe due to desensitization that we as doctors develope towards any disease. In order to treat a condition one has to over come the fear of the condition itself. thus we tend to see these cancers and all due to smoking as normal day happenings. This in itself should make us more prone to getting into the habit of smoking.

I have met a lot of medical students from my university and from other universities all over the world,The majority of them are heavy smokers.And I always asking myself how will they be honest?...They will ask their patients to get ride smoking while they are smoking!!!!!and I was shocked when one of them told me that he has a philosophy which is:
The patient should do what the doctor say,not what the doctor do!!!!!!

It's not a big shock to know that medics smoke as heavy as non-medics do. In a recent study, 10 percents of medics in the United States are either alcoholics or drug abusers. Well, non- medics are excused to smoke because they have not seen how smoking can get them to the grave faster but no one can justify the smoking of people who teach their students and say count: 1,2,3,4,5 one person died because of smoking. The way they behave despite the facts their peers descover and bring to public is really " shameful" and I think their responsability toward the laymen must force them to quit and show others that what they are telling about smoking hazards is true.

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