The influence of a physician on the smoking of his patients.

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Abstract
A small study con-ducted, utilizing the practices of 2 general practitioners who share an office. One physician urged all the smokers in his practice who came to his office over a two-month period to stop smoking; the other made no special mention of smoking. Follow-up 6 months after the office visit showed that a higher proportion of patients in the study group than the comparison group had reduced smoking. Despite the preliminary nature of the data, the results are presented to stimulate further interest and exploration of the role of physicians in the control of smoking. Several parameters of patient-physician interactions are suggested as appropriate for further study.