Tobacco smoking and mental illness: important considerations

Tobacco smoking is a contributory factor in the death of 50% of individuals who are regular or heavy smokers (The Office of Tobacco Control Ireland defines a regular smoker as someone who smokes 11-20 per day and a heavy smoker as someone who smokes 21 or more cigarettes per day). The World Health Organisation (WHO) regards tobacco smoking as the leading preventable cause of death worldwide. In Ireland, approximately 750,000 people smoke tobacco regularly (23.5% of the population) with 7,000 Irish people dying annually from smoking-related causes. Although there are no exact figures for prevalence rates of smoking in individuals with mental illness in Ireland, international studies unequivocally state that the prevalence of smoking is significantly higher in those with mental illness, with greater nicotine intake and increased prevalence of nicotine dependence also reported. Furthermore people with mental illness experience greater withdrawal symptoms and have lower cessation rates when attempting to stop smoking compared to the general population.