A 2004 study conducted among 3,500 Chinese physicians found that 23% were regular smokers. There was a significant gender difference, with 41% of male physicians reporting to be smokers but only 1% of female physicians. More than one third of current smokers had smoked in front of their patients and nearly all had smoked during their work shift.
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Male
surgeons were found to smoke more than any other specialty.
[30] A study conducted among 800 Chinese male surgeons in 2004 found that 45.2% were smokers and 42.5% had smoked in front of their patients.
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The smoking rates from these independent studies are lower than those reported by China's state-run newspaper. An article published in 2009 interviewed a source who claimed that 60% of Chinese male doctors were smokers, a percentage higher than any other country's doctors in the world.
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Comparison to other populations
Smoking rates among Chinese male physicians are comparable to the country's general population, although overall physician rates are lower. Chinese physicians have a substantially higher smoking prevalence than doctors in the
United States (3.3%) or
United Kingdom (6.8%). They have a slightly higher rate than Japanese physicians (20.2%) and Japanese physicians have a smaller gender discrepancy with 27% male and 7% of female doctors smoking.
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Causes and influences
High tobacco use among physicians may be attributed to several factors. In
Chinese culture, smoking is connected to masculine identity as a social activity that is practiced among men to promote feelings of acceptance and brotherhood, which explains why more Chinese male doctors smoke than females. Furthermore, physicians in particular may resort to tobacco as a
coping mechanism to deal with the day-to-day stress that is associated with long work hours and difficult patient interactions.
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