An investigation of beliefs about smoking among diabetes patients: information for improving cessation efforts.

The purpose of this study was to identify differences between current smokers and ex-smokers in beliefs about the health effects of smoking. This information will enable educators to design better smoking cessation interventions for diabetes patients. A smoking behavior questionnaire was developed to collect information about demographics, personal lifestyle, and beliefs about smoking and diabetes. Participants were 40 current smokers and 30 ex-smokers located from a patient registry at the University of Virginia Diabetes Research and Training Center. Less than half of the diabetic smokers in the study reported receiving advice to quit from their physician and none of them reported having attended a formal smoking cessation program. Results indicate that demographic and lifestyle variables predict 21% of the variance between smokers and non-smokers in this sample. The group of health belief variables collectively raised the amount of variance that could be accounted for from 21% to 42%. It is recommended that health professionals who provide services to diabetes patients determine present smoking behavior of each diabetes patient, provide firm advice to stop smoking, assess the special circumstances of the smokers, and offer specific smoking cessation programs to meet the unique needs of diabetes patients.