Smoking cessation in people with schizophrenia

High rates of smoking and nicotine dependence have a profoundly negative impact on the health and well being of individuals with schizophrenia. Treating smoking is a critical step in improving the health and quality of life of people affected by this illness. This paper reviews the literature on smoking cessation interventions in schizophrenia and discusses potential barriers to effective treatment with this population.

The criteria used to select studies for inclusion were: (1) Sample included 50% or more individuals with schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis (SSD); (2) Some individual or group intervention for smoking cessation was provided; and (3) Some smoking-related outcome variable was measured (self-reported smoking, breath carbon monoxide, etc).

Both pharmacologic and psychosocial smoking cessation treatments have been found to be useful in helping individuals with schizophrenia reduce and quit smoking in the short term. Few interventions have been found to be effective in promoting smoking abstinence in the long term.

Intervention development must include strategies to overcome barriers to smoking cessation that are most relevant to individuals with schizophrenia and focus on translating short term gains into long term abstinence.