Smokers take no notice when asked to give up smoking by their GPs, according to new research.
A team from the University of Wales found that attempts by doctors to encourage patients to give up the habit during consultations for other health problems were largely pointless. It's not like it's a top secret. The authors, writing in the British Medical Journal, found that most people are already aware of the negative effects of smoking and that they believe that it should be up to them whether they give up or not. In fact, they discovered that the doctor-patient relationship can be damaged if doctors routinely advise all smokers to quit every time they visit the surgery. Feeling guilty Smokers are unlikely to heed doctor's advice Smokers anticipate they will get antismoking advice by doctors when they visit a health centre and they react by shrugging this off, feeling guilty, or becoming annoyed.