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Effects of clozapine on smoking in chronic schizophrenic outpatients
T P George1, M J Sernyak, D M Ziedonis
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, CT, USA.
Background:
The effects of clozapine administration on smoking were examined in chronic schizophrenic outpatients.
Method:
Twenty-nine of 30 schizophrenic outpatients enrolled in a university-affiliated Community Mental Health Center clozapine clinic were retrospectively surveyed by semistructured questionnaire regarding smoking before and after clozapine administration.
Results:
Smokers comprised 62% (N = 18) of patients, and within this group, there was a significant decrease in reported daily cigarette use during clozapine treatment compared with level of use when patients had been treated with typical neuroleptics (1.67 +/- 1.13 vs. 1.26 +/- 0.72 packs/day, p = .025).
Conclusion:
Clozapine may alter smoking behaviors in chronic schizophrenics.