[Smoking and medical specialty]

Smoking habits and smoking advisory practices of male practicing physicians in Switzerland were analyzed by medical specialty. After correction for age differences, pneumologists, ear, nose and throat specialists, pediatricians and internists smoke significantly less than the total group of physicians; on the other hand, psychiatrists have quit smoking less often than the medical profession as a whole. Giving advice on smoking to male patients follows a similar pattern. Gynaecologists give less regularly advice on smoking to pregnant women than do internists and general practitioners. The implications of these findings are discussed.