Making Smoking Cessation Work For People With Mental Illnesses And Other Vulnerable Populations

The prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults is now at a modern low of 15 percent, and youth rates are also down for high school seniors, with only 3.4 percent smoking daily. Yet this is not a time to become complacent and move on to other public health problems. As many as 40 million people still smoke, and half of them will die prematurely as a result. Furthermore, smoking rates remain high among the most vulnerable populations, such as people with mental illnesses or substance use disorders, necessitating policies and strategies targeted specifically at them, as well as support for tobacco control at the federal, state, and local levels. Smoking rates have declined much faster among prosperous, well-educated people than they have among the less fortunate. As a result, smoking is now concentrated among special populations: People with mental illnesses have smoking rates that range from 30 percent to more than 50 percent, depending on the specific diagnosis. People with substance use disorders have even higher rates—from about 50 percent for those who abuse alcohol to more than 77 percent for those who abuse heroin. The LGBTQ populations, people with less education, prisoners, and homeless people also have smoking rates that are higher, sometimes much higher, than the overall population’s rate. Yet these special populations are a part of that general population. Excluding them would bring the population smoking rate closer to 10 percent. How Do We Reach These Smo...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Health Equity Population Health Public Health Behavioral Health Mental Illness smoking cessation Substance Use Disorders vulnerable populations Source Type: blogs