RESUMO
AIM: To study clinical and gender characteristics of tobacco dependence in addiction treatment specialists in comparison with physicians of other specialties. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 21 addiction psychiatrists and 154 doctors of various therapeutic specialties were examined. All physicians were stratified into two groups and then each group was subdivided into male and female subgroups. A questionnaire developed by one of the authors and the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence were used for standardization of the study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In addiction psychiatrists, the prevalence of tobacco dependence among female addiction psychiatrists was higher than that of the female doctors of other specialties. Persistent smoking was formed earlier, and awareness of the urge to smoke appeared later compared to physicians of other specialties. The degree of tobacco dependence was higher in addiction psychiatrists of both genders. Affective component was dominated in the tobacco withdrawal syndrome in female addiction psychiatrists.
