Smoking and Mental Illness: Prevalence, Patterns and Correlates of Smoking and Smoking Cessation among Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

This study aims to understand (a) the prevalence and correlates of smoking in a psychiatric population, (b) factors that encourage smoking cessation, and (c) awareness towards cessation programmes. This study captured data (n = 380) through a modified version of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. The prevalence of smoking was 39.5% (n = 150) and 52.3% of the smokers were dependent on nicotine. More than half of the smokers had made at least one attempt to quit in the past 12 months and 56% reported no immediate plans to quit smoking. The awareness towards institutional smoking cessation programmes was fair (44%), with 49.7% of smokers having indicated that they were willing to use the service upon referral. Smokers endorsed that increasing the cost of cigarettes, restricting availability, and increasing knowledge of health harms could encourage smoking cessation. Past smokers reported that self-determination/willpower followed by substitution of smoking with other types of foods and drinks were factors that helped them achieve successful cessation. Given that the readiness to quit and awareness towards cessation programmes are low among the smokers, concerted efforts through educational programmes and policy changes are crucial to achieve successful cessation.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and smoking status among psychiatric patients in Singapore – a cross-sectional study

“…The data used in this analysis was collected as part of a study on the prevalence and correlates of smoking and cessation among patients with depressive disorders or schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders in a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore [ 26 ]. Participants were recruited from the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore over a one-year period.…”

Problematic Drug Use Among Outpatients With Schizophrenia and Related Psychoses

“…Items in the scale were summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 10. Following studies conducted in the local general population and among psychiatric patients, a cut-off score of ≥5 was used to indicate nicotine dependence (34,35). Participants were then classified as either "non-smokers, " "smokers without nicotine dependence" or "smokers with nicotine dependence".…”

Smoking-Related Health Beliefs in a Sample of Psychiatric Patients: Factors Associated with the Health Beliefs and Validation of the Health Belief Questionnaire

“…This cross-sectional study was conducted among treatment-seeking psychiatric patients recruited from the inpatient and outpatient clinics of a tertiary psychiatric care hospital in Singapore. This study derived data from a larger study that established the prevalence and correlations of smoking [27]. A quota sampling method was used with a 1:1 quota assigned based on the diagnosis (depressive disorder, the schizophrenia spectrum, and other psychotic disorders), gender, and age (21-40 and 41-65 years.).…”

“…Individuals with mental illness (MI) smoke twice as much as the general population and have a higher prevalence of nicotine dependence (ND) [26,27]. This is believed to be due to a combination of factors that include genetic vulnerabilities that predispose them to tobacco use, poor coping skills where smoking is used as a method to alleviate the symptoms of MI, and social reinforcement in mental health settings where smoking is considered to be a normal behaviour [28].…”

“…This is believed to be due to a combination of factors that include genetic vulnerabilities that predispose them to tobacco use, poor coping skills where smoking is used as a method to alleviate the symptoms of MI, and social reinforcement in mental health settings where smoking is considered to be a normal behaviour [28]. MIs are associated with a higher severity of smoking and a lower chance of successful smoking cessation [26][27][28][29][30]. People with MIs have similar motivations to quit smoking as the general population [31].…”