Table 1.

Clinical practice of healthcare personnel during first and subsequent medical consultations with smokers in primary care clinics of Mexico City, n = 70.

Practice in the first consultation		Physicians		Nurses		P b
	n %		n%
Ask whether the patient smokes or uses any	No	16	42.1	19	65.5	.057
tobacco products	Yes	22	57.9	10	34.5
Ask whether the patient is exposed to	No	28	73.7	22	75.9	.839
second-hand smoke	Yes	10	26.3	7	24.1
If the patient smokes, ask whether they want	No	12	34.3	19	73.1	.003
to quit	Yes	23	65.7	7	26.9
If the patient smokes, offer advice on how to	No	16	45.7	17	70.8	.056
quit smoking	Yes	19	54.3	7	29.2
If the patient smokes, discuss whether they	No	23	78.1	18	90.0	.285
need pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation (NRT, bupropion, varenicline)a	Yes	7	21.9	2	10.0
If the patient smokes and if necessary, offer	No	15	45.5	14	66.7	.128
pharmacotherapy treatment or refer to a specialist clinica	Yes	18	54.5	7	33.3
During the subsequent consultation
Ask about current tobacco use	No	12	36.4	16	76.2	.006
	Yes	21	63.6	5	23.8
Ask whether the patient who smokes has quit	No	12	37.5	16	76.2	.011
smoking or has use any tobacco products	Yes	20	62.5	5	23.8
Ask whether the patient who smokes has	No	17	53.1	17	81.0	.046
relapsed in their use of tobacco	Yes	15	46.9	4	19.0
Reinforce messages about the importance of	No	8	24.2	14	63.6	.003
quitting smoking	Yes	25	75.8	8	36.4

^aThese activities are not specific functions of nurses in Mexico.

^bp-value calculated using the t-test and χ² test.