The Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking in an Acute Inpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Population.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking among patients before and after discharge from an acute inpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation unit and to assess smokers' interest in and desire for smoking cessation. A consecutive sample of inpatients (n = 233) admitted over a 5-month period to a regional rehabilitation inpatient center for acute rehabilitation treatment was surveyed for their smoking patterns. Ten percent of patients admitted to rehabilitation were active smokers prior to their hospitalization.