1. Undergraduate medical education – an overlooked opportunity to improve tobacco control Tibor Baška Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University Martin, Slovakia

2. Special role of physicians in tobacco control understanding of the problem significant position in the society providing information qualified intervention advocating of preventive approach in the community primary preventive work providing cessation support referring for other services - QUITLINE

3. Physicians should understand Numerous smokers needs qualified cessation support, not just command not to smoke the question is not “why quit” but “how quit” Prevention is highly cost-effective Also minimal intervention is effective GPs can reach large proportion of the population – high population intervention impact of their interventions

4. Do physicians understand these issues appropriately ? Do physicians play their role in prevention satisfactory? Do we prepare medical students adequately in these issues? Situation in Slovakia

5. Global Health Professional Students Survey (GHPSS) project World Health Organization and Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention in Atlanta, USA questionnaire study in the 3rd year of study, medical, pharmacy, dental and nursing students uniform questionnaire and standard method  valid comparable data in more than 40 countries until now in Slovakia in 2006 (1049 respondents)

6. Students‘ views

7. Cessation support included in undergraduate education

8. Conclusions Inadequate undergraduate education in medical students Physicians and other health workers are not prepared to their role in preventive work possibilities of evidence-based methods for cessation supports not adequately employed (QUITLINE as a part of existing network of services) Similar results also in other countries

9. What to do? Development of a textbook covering issues on tobacco control meeting needs of undergraduate education supported by WHO-EURO Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Martin Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Šafárik University, Košice to be finished until November 30, 2010 Meeting of representatives of eligible faculties and unversities in January 2011 starting points, possibilities, strategies, plans

10. Final GHPSS Slovakia report : http://www.jfmed.uniba.sk/index.php?id=3015 http://www.jfmed.uniba.sk/index.php?id=3015 More information on GHPSS project: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global/ghpss/ http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/global/ghpss/ Assoc. Prof. Tibor Baška, M.D., PhD. Institute of Public Health JFM CU in Martin Sklabinská 26 036 01 Martin baska@jfmed.uniba.sk