Background: In 1994 Doll and colleagues published smoking mortality figures for British doctors over 40 years.
Aims: To assess smoking prevalence among junior doctors in a major Dublin teaching hospital.
Methods: One hundred and fourteen non-consultant doctors (NCHDs) at St James's Hospital received a confidential smoking questionnaire.
Results: One hundred and six NCHDs responded (93%). Three refused, five were not available. Ninety per cent were aged 24-35 years. Twenty-six per cent of the doctors had smoked for 10 to 15 years. Seventy-five per cent were smoking more than 10 cigarettes daily. Ninety-seven per cent (20) of smokers wanted to stop smoking. Seventy-four per cent (17) had unsuccessfully attempted to quit. The smoking cessation method most commonly used was'cold turkey' in 60%. Others included nicotine replacement, bupropion and hypnotherapy.
Conclusion: A significant per centage of NCHDs (22%) continue to smoke, despite overwhelming evidence that this causes health problems. The prevalence in our study is lower than the national figure of 29%.