Skip to main content
The British Journal of General Practice logoLink to The British Journal of General Practice
. 2000 Dec;50(461):1001–1004.

Anti-smoking advice from general practitioners: is a population-based approach to advice-giving feasible?

T Coleman 1, A Wilson 1
PMCID: PMC1313871  PMID: 11224956

Abstract

General practitioners' (GPs') advice against smoking has a small, beneficial effect on patients' smoking. Consequently, GPs have been urged to adopt a population-based approach to advice-giving that involves discussing smoking repeatedly with the maximum possible number of smokers. This discussion paper assesses how far GPs' current clinical practice is from a population-based approach to advice-giving and finds that GPs prefer a problem-orientated approach to advising those who present with smoking-related problems. Discussion focuses on the feasibility of suggesting that GPs adopt a population-based approach instead.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (36.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ashenden R., Silagy C., Weller D. A systematic review of the effectiveness of promoting lifestyle change in general practice. Fam Pract. 1997 Apr;14(2):160–176. doi: 10.1093/fampra/14.2.160. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boulton M. G., Williams A. Health education in the general practice consultation: doctors' advice on diet, alcohol and smoking. Health Educ J. 1983;42(2):57–63. doi: 10.1177/001789698304200211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bruce N., Burnett S. Prevention of lifestyle-related disease: general practitioners' views about their role, effectiveness and resources. Fam Pract. 1991 Dec;8(4):373–377. doi: 10.1093/fampra/8.4.373. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Butler C. C., Pill R., Stott N. C. Qualitative study of patients' perceptions of doctors' advice to quit smoking: implications for opportunistic health promotion. BMJ. 1998 Jun 20;316(7148):1878–1881. doi: 10.1136/bmj.316.7148.1878. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Calnan M., Cant S., Williams S., Killoran A. Involvement of the primary health care team in coronary heart disease prevention. Br J Gen Pract. 1994 May;44(382):224–228. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Calnan M., Williams S. Coronary heart disease prevention: the role of the general practitioner. Fam Pract. 1993 Jun;10(2):137–151. doi: 10.1093/fampra/10.2.137. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Catford J. C., Nutbeam D. Prevention in practice: what Wessex general practitioners are doing. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Mar 17;288(6420):832–834. doi: 10.1136/bmj.288.6420.832. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Coleman T., Murphy E., Cheater F. Factors influencing discussion of smoking between general practitioners and patients who smoke: a qualitative study. Br J Gen Pract. 2000 Mar;50(452):207–210. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Coleman T. Sampling for qualitative research using quantitative methods. 2. Characteristics of GPs who agree to video-taping of consultations. Fam Pract. 1996 Dec;13(6):531–535. doi: 10.1093/fampra/13.6.531. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Coleman T., Wilson A. Anti-smoking advice in general practice consultations: general practitioners' attitudes, reported practice and perceived problems. Br J Gen Pract. 1996 Feb;46(403):87–91. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Coleman T., Wilson A. Factors associated with the provision of anti-smoking advice by general practitioners. Br J Gen Pract. 1999 Jul;49(444):557–558. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Coulter A. Lifestyles and social class: implications for primary care. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1987 Dec;37(305):533–536. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Coulter A., Schofield T. Prevention in general practice: the views of doctors in the Oxford region. Br J Gen Pract. 1991 Apr;41(345):140–143. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kottke T. E., Battista R. N., DeFriese G. H., Brekke M. L. Attributes of successful smoking cessation interventions in medical practice. A meta-analysis of 39 controlled trials. JAMA. 1988 May 20;259(19):2883–2889. doi: 10.1001/jama.259.19.2883. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kviz F. J., Clark M. A., Hope H., Davis A. M. Patients' perceptions of their physician's role in smoking cessation by age and readiness to stop smoking. Prev Med. 1997 May-Jun;26(3):340–349. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1997.0149. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Law M., Tang J. L. An analysis of the effectiveness of interventions intended to help people stop smoking. Arch Intern Med. 1995 Oct 9;155(18):1933–1941. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Raw M., McNeill A., West R. Smoking cessation: evidence based recommendations for the healthcare system. BMJ. 1999 Jan 16;318(7177):182–185. doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7177.182. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sibbald B., Addington-Hall J., Brenneman D., Freeling P. Telephone versus postal surveys of general practitioners: methodological considerations. Br J Gen Pract. 1994 Jul;44(384):297–300. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Silagy C., Muir J., Coulter A., Thorogood M., Yudkin P., Roe L. Lifestyle advice in general practice: rates recalled by patients. BMJ. 1992 Oct 10;305(6858):871–874. doi: 10.1136/bmj.305.6858.871. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Simons-Morton D. G., Mullen P. D., Mains D. A., Tabak E. R., Green L. W. Characteristics of controlled studies of patient education and counseling for preventive health behaviors. Patient Educ Couns. 1992 Apr;19(2):175–204. doi: 10.1016/0738-3991(92)90196-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stott N. C., Pill R. M. 'Advise yes, dictate no'. Patients' views on health promotion in the consultation. Fam Pract. 1990 Jun;7(2):125–131. doi: 10.1093/fampra/7.2.125. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wallace P. G., Brennan P. J., Haines A. P. Are general practitioners doing enough to promote healthy lifestyle? Findings of the Medical Research Council's general practice research framework study on lifestyle and health. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Apr 11;294(6577):940–942. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6577.940. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wallace P. G., Haines A. P. General practitioner and health promotion: what patients think. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1984 Sep 1;289(6444):534–536. doi: 10.1136/bmj.289.6444.534. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wilson A., McDonald P. Comparison of patient questionnaire, medical record, and audio tape in assessment of health promotion in general practice consultations. BMJ. 1994 Dec 3;309(6967):1483–1485. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6967.1483. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Wilson A., McDonald P., Hayes L., Cooney J. Health promotion in the general practice consultation: a minute makes a difference. BMJ. 1992 Jan 25;304(6821):227–230. doi: 10.1136/bmj.304.6821.227. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of General Practice are provided here courtesy of Royal College of General Practitioners

RESOURCES