Physicians' Knowledge Level, Sources of Information, and Clinical Smoking Cessation Practices Regarding Electronic Cigarettes: A Cross-sectional Study in Adana, Türkiye.

Authors

Çiğdem Erhan, Ayşe Turan

Published in

Thoracic research and practice. Oct 26, 2026. Epub Oct 26, 2026.

Abstract

Data on physicians' knowledge and clinical practices regarding electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) remain limited, particularly among physicians from diverse specialties within the same setting. This study assessed the knowledge level, information sources, and smoking cessation counseling practices regarding e-cigarettes of physicians in Adana province and examined associations with sociodemographic and occupational characteristics.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 525 physicians in Adana between January 26 and February 16, 2026, using a 12-item e-cigarette knowledge scale (0-12) and a 5-item smoking cessation counseling practice scale (5-25). Between-group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests; associations were assessed using Spearman's correlation; independent predictors of practice score were identified using multivariate linear regression.
Mean knowledge score was 9.40±2.75 [95% confidence interval (CI): 9.17-9.64] and mean practice score was 20.71±4.07 (95% CI: 20.36-21.06). Knowledge and practice scores were not correlated (ρ = 0.063; 95% CI: -0.022-0.148; P = 0.148). Practice score was associated with specialty, professional title, institution, age, and chronic disease (all P < 0.05). In multivariate regression, age, specialty, and physicians' own tobacco/nicotine use remained independent predictors (B = -0.739; P = 0.041 for tobacco/nicotine users). Social media were the most frequently reported information sources (40.2%; 95% CI: 36.1-44.4%).
Physicians' e-cigarette knowledge was moderate to high, but was not associated with general smoking cessation counseling practices, which were not assessed as e-cigarette-specific. Educational interventions should incorporate structured clinical protocols in addition to knowledge transfer.

PMID:
42929077
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Oct 2026.

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