Assessing the attitude of veterans toward a smoking cessation program in a hospital setting

110 male patients in a V. A. Hospital were surveyed in regard to their smoking behavior, attitudes toward smoking, and their willingness to participate in a treatment program designed to eliminate smoking. Some of the more important findings were that 68% of the patient population smoked as compared to 50% for the ggeneral male population. Only 57% of the smokers felt that smoking was harmful to their health. Many of the smokers (60%) had tried to stop smoking but were unsuccessful. 58% of the smokers stated that they would participate in a smoking treatment program. The results of this survey are interpreted to indicate the need for hospital and institutional treatment programs for elimination of smoking.