Prevalence and knowledge, attitude, and practice toward smoking cessation among resident physicians: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Resident physicians across different specialties play a crucial role in providing advice and counseling on smoking cessation. Assessing physicians’ knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) is essential to strengthen cessation interventions and reduce the medical, social, and economic burden of smoking in high-prevalence countries. This study aimed to evaluate the KAP of resident physicians toward smoking cessation programs and to assess the effect of their smoking habits on providing cessation advice to patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 225 resident physicians at Mansoura University Hospitals. Data were collected through an interview-based structured questionnaire comprising two parts. The first part, completed by all participants (smokers and non-smokers), included demographic data and 16 items assessing physicians’ KAP regarding smoking cessation (6 for knowledge, 3 for attitude, and 7 for practice). The second part, answered only by smokers, included 10 items covering smoking methods; age of initiation, number of cigarettes smoked per day, motives, smoking during work, and quit attempts. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of smoking. Results The prevalence of smoking among resident physicians was 14.2%. Male physicians (OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.18–6.90, p = 0.02) and those working more than 12 h per day (OR = 2.42, 95% CI: 1.01–5.82, p = 0.04) were significantly more likely to smoke. Cigarettes were the most common method of smoking. Although 76.1% of smokers had attempted to quit, few had received formal counseling or used evidence-based cessation methods. Only 9% of all participants were aware of smoking cessation guidelines. Non-smoker physicians were more likely than smokers to report the importance of advising patients to quit and to refer them to cessation clinics. Conclusion Smoking remains relatively common among resident physicians, particularly among males and those with long working hours. Integrating smoking cessation training into residency programs and establishing supportive institutional cessation services are essential to enhance physicians’ roles in tobacco control. Trial registration This cross-sectional study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT07075263).