Cigarettes and Mental Illness
By Bob Sherman
A recent article in Addictive Behaviors indicats that, depending on the particular disorder, 50% to 90% of those people with mental illness or addiction are tobacco dependent. The rates are highest among patients with psychotic and substance-abuse disorders. Rates are also high among those suffering depression, anxiety and personality disorders. Those with mental illness are two to three times more likely to be dependent on tobacco than the general population.
For example, those with schizophrenia are three times more likely to smoke than the general population. Smokers with schizophrenia puff more rapidly, more frequently, smoke more cigarettes, and have higher CO concentrations. And, while nearly 40% of smokers with no mental illness eventually quit smoking, virtually no smokers with schizophrenia quit.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 44% of all cigarettes in the United States are smoked by those with psychiatric or substance-abuse disorder.
Why Associate Cigarettes with Mental Illness?
Smoking causes many chemical substances to be absorbed into the blood stream. Smoking can reduce some symptoms of depression, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, and other feelings common to those with menal illness.
How to Quit Smoking
Patients with mental illness are much more likely to be smokers than the general population. This is due to the self medicating effects of smoking. For this reason, a combination of treatments would be most effective.
Paitents with mental illness need to be treated for both their illness and their smoking addiction. A combination of treatments, such as medications, smoking cessation motivation, and behavioral therapy will probably be most effective. Simply withdrawal from smoking will likely not be effective with most people in this group.
Take a look at other pages on our site:
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If you could ask just one question about smoking or quitting smoking,
What would it be?
