Introduction:
In May 2017, 97 physicians completed an adapted Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (aCTTS) program. Objectives were to provide physicians with knowledge and skills to support them in providing tobacco counseling to their patients. Patients were surveyed in May and June 2018 to document their engagement and experience of counseling with trained physicians.

Methods:
Patients who use tobacco and saw one of 26 aCTTS-trained physicians completed a cross-sectional survey to assess: 1) individual and peer/family smoking behaviors; 2) quitting experience and perceived barriers; 3) confidence in quitting; and, 4) counseling experience. Bivariate analyses were conducted to determine significant associations between independent and dependent variables.

Results:
Among 275 patients surveyed, 44% were female; mean age was 49.4 years. Almost 50% of respondents smoked 19+ cigarettes daily and 58% reported attempting to quit in the past year. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10=very confident/important), patients had a mean score of 4.6 in confidence to quit, and a mean score of 7.0 for importance of quitting. Respondents under age 50 perceived quitting as less important (p=0.040) than those age 51+. Female respondents more frequently reported ‘gaining weight’ (p<0.001) and perception of ‘no physical problems’ (p=0.014) as barriers to quitting. Preferred supports for quitting were medications (77.2%) and physician counseling (75.2%).

Conclusion:
Smokers in FYROM have low confidence in quitting; importance of quitting and barriers are associated with age and gender. Most patients report tobacco counseling by aCTTS-trained providers. Continued data analysis will address demographic variations and need for targeted interventions.