Background <p>Cigarette smoking remains a pervasive global health concern, contributing to a myriad of debilitating conditions. One critical aspect of its detrimental impact is the induction of oxidative stress (OS). The aim of the study was to identify differences in the level of reactive oxygen species between surgical and non-surgical physicians who smoke different types of cigarettes and their level of nicotine addiction.</p> Methods <p>The prospective study conducted on surgical and non-surgical physicians who smoke various types of cigarettes worked at the Provincial Multidisciplinary Oncology and Traumatology Centre in Lodz (Poland) and at the Polish Mother’s Health Centre Institute in Lodz (Poland). The Fagerström’s test for nicotine dependence was used to determine degree of nicotine addiction. The differences in reactive oxygen species level among physicians with surgical and non-surgical specialization who smoke different types of cigarettes was analysed by the Cellular Reactive Oxygen Species Assay Kit.</p> Results <p>In this study 35.1% of surgical and 40.5% of non-surgical physicians indicated signs of nicotine addiction. The Fagerström score was significantly higher in surgical than non-surgical physician specialties (5.4 ± 1.372 vs. 4.7 ± 1.310; <i>p</i> = 0.001). Significantly higher ROS level was observed in conventional cigarette (CS) smokers, e-cigarette (EC) smokers and tobacco heating products (THP) smokers compared to non-smokers (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). In addition, there was a significantly lower ROS level in THP smokers compared to CS smokers (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05) and EC smokers (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). There was a significantly higher ROS level in physicians with surgical specialization who smoke CS (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and EC (<i>p</i> = 0.004) compared to non-surgical physicians.</p> Conclusions <p>Understanding the influence of the type of smoked cigarettes on oxidative stress in surgical and non-surgical physicians is imperative for targeted interventions and health promotion strategies. The broader goal is mitigating the health risks associated with cigarette smoking, especially within professional domains where stressors may already be heightened. Further investigations are essential for developing tailored approaches to address the nuanced relationships between cigarette types, occupational stress, and oxidative stress in specialized medical fields.</p> Clinical trial number <p>not applicable.</p>