Background: To investigate the attitudes of paediatricians in private practice towards counselling smoking parents of infants on their smoking behaviour.
Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 188 eligible paediatricians in Mecklenburg-West Pommerania.
Results: The response rate to this survey was 62%. With regard to risk factors, 54% of respondents counsel parents on the occasion of well-child visits. Around 89% grant Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) a high priority with regard to counselling and 26% of respondents obtain smoking status from parents routinely. From the sample, 66% wish to be trained in a brief intervention for counselling in everyday practice.
Conclusion: Smoking and ETS are seen as prominent health threats and paediatricians look for brief interventions to be used in clinical practice.