Thank you Jum'atil for sharing this information about the situation in Indonesia. [ https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/tobacco-29-tobacco-control-indonesia-3-... ]
The data on Jakarta physicians' high level of knowledge about active and passive smoking in 2009 is striking. I could not find Pujianto's article to know how this knowledge had been evaluated.
The fact that 2/3 of the professionals did not ask about their patients' smoking habits, and of those that did ask, almost 40% did not advise them to quit smoking, speaks that there is much to be done in tobacco control and smoking cessation in Indonesia.
According to information from 2021, the prevalence of smoking in Indonesia would be close to 30% of the adult population (mainly male).
Which is the current smoking prevalence among Physicians ? The only study I found was one from Ng in 2007, which showed 22% of smoking prevalence among physicians.
Perhaps this is the bigger problem.
Evidence shows that in most countries where smoking prevalence decreased, it first decreased among physicians.
Thus, training/training physicians in smoking cessation is critical to help smoking physicians quit smoking, and to increase the possibilities of intervention on general population.
What is the support of the authorities for tobacco control policies?
Indonesia is one of the few countries, globally, and the only country in the Asia-Pacific Region, that has not ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Without a doubt, there is a lot to do, and the training of health professionals, not just physicians, is essential.
Greetings,
Dr. Eduardo Bianco
*Dr. Eduardo Bianco*
Director, International Policy Education
Email: ebianco@nextgenu.org
Web: NextGenU.org
*Chair, WHF Tobacco Expert Group
<http://world-heart-federation.org/our-committees/tobacco-expert-group/>*
HIFA profile: Eduardo Bianco is a medical doctor and Cardiologist, Certified Tobacco Cessation Expert with a Master’s in Prevention and Treatment of Addictive Disorders. Currently, he is Chair of the World Heart Federation Tobacco Expert Group. Dr. Bianco’s research examines tobacco control and cessation, and he is a prominent member of several organizations that address tobacco control in Latin America. Dr. Bianco has worked for 25 years in Uruguay and Latin America to promote and train in smoking cessation treatment and tobacco control policies. He is also the former Regional Coordinator for the Americas of the Framework Convention Alliance and former Technical Director of the MOH Center for International Cooperation for Tobacco. He is a member of the HIFA working group on substance use disorders. https://www.hifa.org/support/members/eduardo Email: ebianco AT nextgenu.org
