Overworked GPs fail to tackle smoking

Family doctors are too overworked to tackle patients about quitting smoking even though treating smoking-related illnesses costs the NHS £1.5 billion a year in England, research showed today.

Some GPs were so worried about increasing their workload that they were unwilling to put up posters about quitting smoking in their waiting rooms.

The findings by charity group No Smoking Day, which is this Wednesday March 12, also showed that one in two smokers will die from the habit.

Many GPs told the charity they were reluctant to raise the subject because it takes time to provide adequate help and advice to anyone considering quitting.

They also said talking to their patients about smoking could often be 'frustrating' and 'unrewarding' and that they 'didn't like to bother' patients who had other problems, such as lack of money or poor housing.

This is despite figures showing more than 80 per cent of smokers regret ever starting smoking and that stopping smoking results in lower stress levels.

Doctors found it easier to broach the topic with those already ill with a smoking-related illness, such as heart and lung disease, even though statistics showed this group of people were the least likely to quit.

They also found it easier if the patients raised the subject of quitting themselves.

GPs who knew about the NHS specialist clinics for smokers were also more willing to talk to patients and refer them for specialist help quickly.

Doreen McIntyre, chief executive of No Smoking Day, says, 'The results of this study are worrying. Smoking related illness is filling up GP waiting rooms and hospital beds, but smokers aren't yet getting rapid access to the specialist services that can help them stop.

'GPs need better information about these services, and they need to encourage their patients to use them. '

The No Smoking Day theme this year is 'Sick of smoking?'. If you would like to stop smoking, call the NHS Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 0169, from 7am to 11pm daily or Quitline on 0800 002200 from 9am to 9pm daily.

Quitting factfile

  • Most years, about a million smokers actually try to stop on No Smoking Day.

  • More than 80 per cent of smokers regret ever starting smoking, according to a MORI poll for No Smoking Day last year.

  • More than 70 per cent of smokers say they would like to give up.

  • Of smokers who would like to stop, 35 per cent would most like to ask their doctor or nurse for help them and 22 per cent say that visiting a stop smoking service would help.

  • When GPs simply advise their patients to stop, 40 per cent will go straight out and try.

  • Around 24 per cent of smokers try to stop in any one year. Of those who try without using any help, only around 2 per cent will succeed.

  • Of smokers who try and stop with the help of NHS stop-smoking services 40 to 50 per cent will succeed.

  • In the last three years, the NHS has established a national specialist service for smokers who want to stop.

  • In 2002, 120,000 smokers successfully quit with these services.

  • The current Government target is for 800,000 to have stopped smoking by 2006.

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