The June issue of Pediatrics confirms that physicians truly can be a significant influence on their teenage patients’ attitudes toward tobacco use. The study, which surveyed over 5,000 11th graders in the Memphis, TN area, found that teenagers whose doctors raised the issue were more knowledgeable about smoking’s detrimental health effects; furthermore, those teenagers who already smoked were more likely to consider quitting within six months of the conversation with their physician.
However, despite the positive indications of this recent study by University of Tennessee professor of clinical psychology Dr. Leslie A. Robinson and doctoral student of psychology Ashley Hum, 57 percent of teenagers surveyed said they’d never had such a conversation with their doctors.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, who has written on this topic previously, observes that talking to teenage patients about substance abuse and sexual health is the essence of being a responsible health care practitioner. He recommends that physicians and nurses who start such a conversation with their young patients keep the dialogue non-judgmental and private.