The researchers saw differences between different groups. People with a short education received advice to a greater extent than people with a long education because smoking was more common among them. On the other hand, early retirees and the unemployed were less frequently asked about smoking habits than gainfully employed people, even though they smoked more. Women were less frequently asked questions and advice than men. People born outside the Nordic countries received advice twice as often as people born in Sweden, regardless of whether they were daily smokers or not.

"In the latter cases, primary care measures regarding smoking habits appear to be partially misdirected," the researchers write.

"Since the study is based on self-reported data, the results must be interpreted with caution. However, our conclusion is that those who are asked and, in particular, given advice about changing their smoking habits during visits to health centers are essentially those who need it most."

However, the researchers point out, the results also suggest that measures to reduce smoking should be intensified for women and may be too intensive for people born outside the Nordic region.

"We draw the latter conclusion based on the fact that daily smoking did not explain why people born outside the Nordic region received advice to a greater extent than people born in Sweden. National guidelines for disease prevention methods should therefore be developed so that they include a more standardized method, for example one recommended by the WHO. This would reduce differences between different groups in terms of the likelihood of receiving questions and advice about smoking habits when visiting a health center."