Studies show it only takes three minutes of a doctor s time to have a positive impact on the smoker.
This is especially significant given results of one study showing only one in five physicians advises patients who are smokers to quit. If each physician advised their patients at every visit to not smoke, one million Americans could be free of nicotine addiction each year according to Michael C. Fiore, M.D., MPH, director of the University of Wisconsin Medical School s Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention. This could lower the incidence of heart disease, since smoking is a risk factor for heart disease that can be eliminated, unlike some other risk factors. One of the obstacles for physicians who are trying to help patients quit smoking is time. A physician typically spends less than ten minutes with a patient, during which time the patient s primary medical problem is discussed.