Nearly 40% of smokers have mental health problems.

[a_unique_person]

A mental health lobby group is calling for more support to help people with mental illnesses quit smoking.
SANE Australia says people with mental illnesses make up nearly 40 per cent of all smokers and cost taxpayers $33 billion a year in health care, including treatment for cancer and heart disease.
SANE's executive director Barbara Hocking says governments and anti-smoking campaigns have overlooked the mentally ill.
She says they need urgent support services and equitable funding.
"If we know that a lot of money is contributed by mental illness to government by way of taxes, etc, [we want to know] that some of that is returned to those who wish to quit smoking," she said.








http://www.bigpond.com/news/breaking/content/20071211/2115016.asp



:eek:

[Tsukasa Buddha]

I say that the mental problems are the result of society repressing smokers by making them smoke outside and 15 feet away from the doorway. Such isolation and rejection surely causes emotional anguish. Clearly, we need government programs telling people that it is okay to be a smoker and not to discriminate based on smoking orientation. These people are being made second class citizens by the colour of their lungs.








(Think before replying, I am not seriously arguing this, and though I am American, I always want to put a "u" in favour, colour, etc. so I reserve the right to be attacked by English Nazis)

[rjh01]

What is the definition of mentally ill? 30 years ago the majority of people smoked. Were 40% of those mentally ill or are the numbers of mentally ill static?

What % of the general population mentally ill? If it is about 40% then the survey means nothing.

[Professor Yaffle]

I found similar figures here http://www.schizophrenia.com/smokereport.htm where they quote 44% of smokers being mentally ill, while estimates of mental illness in the population are 4-8%. People with schizophrenia in particular are often very heavy smokers (some research suggesting spending 27% of their income on cigarettes etc), and this is thought to be because nicotine helps to alleviate some of the effects of the illness (self medication).

There seems to be very little targetted help for people with mental illness to give up smoking, and I think there is an underlying attitude that because of their severe mental health problems, their physical health is not worth worrying about as much.

Here's a study looking at rates of smoking and mental illness.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11086367&query_hl=10

[Professor Yaffle]

Smoking remains the single greatest preventable cause of death in our society. It appears to engender both general and specific health risks for patients with schizophrenia. There is no doubt that cigarette smoking causes considerable morbidity and mortality, but there are no epidemiological data addressing smoking-related morbidity and mortality in schizophrenia. Previous work has shown that among people with schizophrenia life expectancy is estimated as being 20% less than in the general population. There is an increase in deaths from
natural causes and the most common causes are cardiovascular and respiratory disease, both
smoking-related (Mortensen & Juel, 1993). The markedly elevated prevalence of smoking is clearly an important potential factor in explaining the elevated mortality in schizophrenia.


http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/reprint/6/5/327.pdf

[NeilC]

I know tons of smokers and none of them could be called mentally ill by any normal standards. I cannot believe 40% of all smokers are mentally ill.

It comes as no surprise however that mentally ill people smoke a lot given the stress they are under. I understand that a lot of people become smokers in a war for instance.

[Professor Yaffle]

But do you know many mentally ill people anyway? Maybe your social circle only includes people from the 60%ish of smokers who are not mentally ill.

[NeilC]

That's a good point. I am probably self-selecting.

Still seems like a big number. I wonder if they include, for instance, anyone who has ever been given anti-depressants?

[fagin]

I say that the mental problems are the result of society repressing smokers by making them smoke outside and 15 feet away from the doorway. Such isolation and rejection surely causes emotional anguish. Clearly, we need government programs telling people that it is okay to be a smoker and not to discriminate based on smoking orientation. These people are being made second class citizens by the colour of their lungs.






(Think before replying, I am not seriously arguing this, and though I am American, I always want to put a "u" in favour, colour, etc. so I reserve the right to be attacked by English Nazis)

If you put a u in colour you also need a me in program.

Love

English Nazi

[WildCat]

I think knowingly inhaling carcinogens every waking hour of every day is a sign of mental illness, or at least self-hatred.

[BPSCG]

I was insane from age 16 until my 21st birthday.

[Professor Yaffle]

That's a good point. I am probably self-selecting.

Still seems like a big number. I wonder if they include, for instance, anyone who has ever been given anti-depressants?

Seems unlikely, given that the link I gave was quoting comparable figures for the general population at 4-8%. The usual figure given for the percentage of people who have ever had a diagnosable mental health problem is closer to 25%.

[bignickel]

Am I the only one here who thinks this is looking through the glass the wrong way round?

A certain number of mentally ill people are smokers.

Just like a certain number of mentally ill people listen to heavy metal,
... read the bible.
... play pinochle.
... eat bacon.

Is there a story here, besides mentally ill people may be slightly easier for the tobacco companies to catch?

[madurobob]

Sorry - can't help it...
I think knowingly inhaling carcinogens every waking hour of every day is a sign of mental illness, or at least self-hatred.

So you never walk down a city street, breathing in the vehicle exhaust, you don't eat red meat, etc... right? Or, are you claiming to be one of us - one of the the normally mentally ill self-hating populace?

Ok, you did throw in "every" a couple of times and I'd agree with you in that extreme. Someone who lights up (anything) to smoke first thing in the morning and chain smokes all day certainly has some issues. But, the person who chooses to smoke the occasional cig and the person who chooses to eat the occasional cheeseburger are making the same risk/reward decision as far as I'm concerned.

[Jekyll]

I found similar figures here http://www.schizophrenia.com/smokereport.htm where they quote 44% of smokers being mentally ill, while estimates of mental illness in the population are 4-8%. People with schizophrenia in particular are often very heavy smokers (some research suggesting spending 27% of their income on cigarettes etc), and this is thought to be because nicotine helps to alleviate some of the effects of the illness (self medication).

Looks to me like they're saying that they're saying that the mentally ill smoke 40% of all cigarettes. This makes a lot more sense than 40% of smokers being mentally ill.
I guess that the numbers just got twisted, either in the press release or in the reporting of it.

[Darth Rotor]

http://www.bigpond.com/news/breaking/content/20071211/2115016.asp
:eek:

It is really simple, folks.

Quitting smoking drives me nuts. So, I return to smoking. I tend to be less nuts. Rinse and repeat.

(Yes, I am back on the smokes again, damn my weak will.)

DR

[Professor Yaffle]

Looks to me like they're saying that they're saying that the mentally ill smoke 40% of all cigarettes. This makes a lot more sense than 40% of smokers being mentally ill.
I guess that the numbers just got twisted, either in the press release or in the reporting of it.

Thanks, I misread the link I posted. However, I don't think the story in the OP is using this same study, as they quote less than 40% rather than 44%. So I don't know if they have made the same error I did.

[Jekyll]

Thanks, I misread the link I posted. However, I don't think the story in the OP is using this same study, as they quote less than 40% rather than 44%. So I don't know if they have made the same error I did.

You're right.
I looked up the report.
Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data1, 31.8% of adults with a mental illness are daily smokers compared to 17.7% of adults without mental illness, and over one quarter of Australians (25.7%) have some form of mental illness.
People with schizophrenia have a smoking prevalence rate of around 90% (de Leon and Diaz, 2005).


People with a mental illness thus comprise 38.3% of all adult smokers.


Overall there are 1.27 million Australian people with a mental illness who smoke (PWAMIS), 672,000 males, and 596,000 females.

http://www.sane.org/images/stories/information/research/0712_info_smokecosts.pdf

I guess they're using quite a broad definition of mentally ill if 25% of Aussies are meant to have some form of mental illness.

[Beerina]

I say that the mental problems are the result of society repressing smokers by making them smoke outside and 15 feet away from the doorway. Such isolation and rejection surely causes emotional anguish.

Funny but probably at least partly true.

"SMOKING WILL KILL YOU!!!!" had been beaten into people's heads for going on 40 years now.

Yet smoking feels good.

What happens to the mind when it's trying to keep two inconsistent facts as true? Neurosis.

"We're here to help you. We're from the government. We will heal your mind so you can have a 50% greater chance of giving up smoking."

"Go the f*** away!"

[Cainkane1]

http://www.bigpond.com/news/breaking/content/20071211/2115016.asp



:eek:


In those days (the early 70's) most mentally were treated with phenothyizides and that dgur group makes you want to smoke al the time. I forget why but it was sad to see the schizophrenics on thorazine doing the thorazine shuffle and smoking their lungs out at the same time.