Medical students should be educated about their exemplary role

BMJ 1995;311:945 (7 October)

Letters

Medical students should be educated about their exemplary role

EDITOR,--There is little evidence to support the theory thatadvice on stopping smoking is less effective when deliveredby a doctor who smokes (the recipient being unaware of the doctor'ssmoking status) than when offered by a non-smoker.¹ What isneeded are positive strategies to encourage medical studentswho smoke to give up the habit and prevent others from takingit up. Furthermore, students should be educated about the exemplaryrole they exhibit for their patients in relation to their personallifestyle. The medical student is usually very different fromthe person who emerges some 10 years later as a principal ingeneral practice. Cutting down these medical saplings in theirprime is not the answer.

Senior registrar in public health medicine Oadby, LeicesterLE2 4TW

Naresh Chada