Abstract
WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC? Smoking is the primary risk factor for a poor prognosis in chronic respiratory disease (CRD). Current tobacco surveillance efforts in China focus on the general population and do not adequately cover CRD patients. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT? We employed electronic medical records (EMR) to track smoking habits in 28,334 hospitalized CRD patients at Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital. The rates of former and current smokers were 30.7% and 18.0%, respectively. Both former and current smokers exhibited an increased risk of respiratory symptoms and extended hospital stays. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE? These results underscore the importance of implementing smoking monitoring and targeted cessation interventions for hospitalized patients with CRDs.