To determine the percentage of smokers who have been counseled by a physician to quit, among patients who visit a variety od specialist clinica; to identify the characteristics associated with a history of minimal intervention.An anonymous survey of 501 patients over 14 years of age (230 men, 271 women; mean age of 51.4 yr) who were out patients in cardiology (61), neurology (68), digestive medicine (124), endocrinology (22), internal medicine (14), otorhinolaryngology (53) and dermatology (159) over a period of one week. The questionnaire asked if the patient smoked currently and if so, if a physician had ever recommended quitting. The association between a history or minimal intervention and other variables was evaluated using Spearman a correlation coefficient.1) One hundred fifteen (22.9%) were smokers. 2) Only 49 (42.6%) of the smokers reported that a physician had advised quitting and 66 (57.4%) reported that none had done so. 3) We found an association between a history of minimal intervention and older age (rs = -0.246; p = 0.008) and male sex (rs = 0.244; p = 0.009).The infrequency with which physicians counsel patients to quit in our setting suggests an urgent need for the Spanish health authorities to develop programs aimed at minimal intervention.