Abstract
In 2006, the Japan Society for Head and Neck Cancer made a declaration in which its members pledged to stop smoking and be moderate in drinking. In June 2008, our executive committee then sent a questionnaire concerning smoking to society members. The survey asked about smoking status, attitude toward smoking as medical doctors, awareness of the declaration and opinions regarding measures that could be taken to reduce smoking in order to improve health. The response rate was 32.9%. The proportion of doctors who had never smoked was 53.3%, those who had given up smoking 39.2%, and current smokers 7.1%. Most had been able to give up smoking on the first attempt. Many respondents said that doctors should not smoke and most of them felt that patients should be advised to give up smoking. The proportion of society members who were aware of our declaration was 74.3%. Most agreed that measures should be taken to make people think more about the health risks of smoking. Respondents hoped that there would be more public lectures on smoking, that the society would organize more sessions on the benefits of giving up smoking and being moderate in drinking, and that anti-smoking posters would be made.
