Helping hospitalized smokers in Hong Kong quit smoking by understanding their risk perception, behaviour, and attitudes related to smoking.

To date, no study examining smoking behaviour among hospitalized patients in Hong Kong has been conducted. Misconceptions about smoking and health, barriers to quitting that outweighed perceived benefits, lack of support from healthcare professionals, and difficulty overcoming withdrawal symptoms or cigarette cravings precluded hospitalized smokers sustaining smoking abstinence after discharge. Smoking is detrimental to physical health. Smoking cessation has beneficial effects on treatment efficacy and prognosis and helps to reduce the economic burden on society from smoking-attributable diseases.