Introduction: Passive smoking represents a real public health scourge that is often neglected by global health systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Tunisian physicians on the harms of passive smoking and the legislative laws that regulate this practice in Tunisia.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted among Tunisian physicians during the month of January 2023. Data collection was done using a Google Forms questionnaire. One hundred and twenty-one physicians were included in this study.

Results: The average age was 27 ±3 years with a female predominance (sex ratio = 2.66). Active smoking exposure was found in 22.3% of cases and passive in 72.7% of cases, with an exposure in the work environment in 49.6% of cases. Among these doctors, 16.5% believed that there is a threshold below which passive smoking is safe and 56.2% believed that the ventilation of confined spaces provides effective protection against harmful tobacco particles. Forty-three percent of physicians thought that passive smoking increases the risk of lung neoplasia by 10%, while 57% knew that it actually increases the risk by 25%. Nineteen percent of the physicians thought that there were no Tunisian laws prohibiting smoking in public places and 28.1% did not know. Ninety-six percent of the physicians did not receive a training on passive smoking and 43.8% of them do not educate their patients about the harms of passive smoking.

Conclusion: It seems essential to develop the knowledge of Tunisian doctors on passive smoking in order to involve them actively in tobacco control.