Mentally ill smoke at 4 times the rate of general population, says University of Melbourne studyOctober 07, 2008Australians with mental illness smoke at four times the rate of the general population, says a new study from the University of Melbourne. The study, published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, says despite smoking halving among Australia's general population over the past 20 years there has been little change in smoking rates among people with psychiatric disabilities. Study author Kristen Saxone-Moeller from the University of Melbourne's Melbourne School of Population Health, says smoking rates remain high even though three quarters of those involved in the study said they wanted to quit or cut down on cigarettes.
Ms Saxone-Moeller's study surveyed 280 clients of a psychiatric support service - most of whom had schizophrenia - in Melbourne's northern suburbs. It found that found that more than six in 10 (or 62 per cent) of those surveyed smoked, compared to fewer than two in 10 (16 per cent) members of the general population. It also found that: * Smokers with mental illness consumed 50 per cent more cigarettes a day than the general population, averaging 22 cigarettes a day; * The heaviest smokers in the group smoked up to 80 cigarettes in a day; * Almost three in five (59 per cent) said they wanted to quit smoking; * Almost three quarters (74 per cent) said they wanted to cut down; * One in 10 (12 per cent) had successfully given up smoking; and * Smokers with mental illness were almost three times more likely to consume illegal tobacco. Ms Saxone-Moeller said the study showed the need for specialist services to help people with mental illness stop smoking. She said previous research by SANE Australia and ACCESS economics showed smoking among people with mental illness cost Australia more than $30 billion a year. "Smoking compounds many of the health problems already experienced by people with mental illnesses,'' she said. "Combined with drug therapies that often make them overweight, they are at even greater risk of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes if they smoke. "The biggest cause of death among people with mental illness is not suicide, it is cardiovascular disease." Ms Saxone-Moeller said smoking also placed a big financial imposition on many people with mental illness, some of whom spent more than 20 per cent of their income on cigarettes. However, governments had provided very little support for quit programs among the mentally ill. "This is typified by the current Victorian Tobacco Control Strategy which doesn't specifically recognise the mentally ill as a group to be specifically targeted,'' she said. "We really need to focus on people with mental illness as a specialist sub-group which needs tailored support rather than just including them with other socially disadvantaged groups." Ms Moeller-Saxone said her study also showed that helping people with mental illness to cut down, rather than quit straight away, may also be a good strategy for reducing smoking rates. University of Melbourne | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Related Smoking Current Events and Smoking News Articles Deaths from lung cancer could be reduced by better policies to control indoor radon About 1100 people each year die in the UK from lung cancer related to indoor radon, but current government protection policies focus mainly on the small number of homes with high radon levels and neglect the 95% of radon related deaths caused by lower levels of radon, according to a study published on bmj.com today. Jupiter-like Planets Could Form Around Twin Suns Life on a planet ruled by two suns might be a little complicated. Two sunrises, two sunsets. Twice the radiation field. New findings shed light on why smokers struggle to quit Just seeing someone smoke can trigger smokers to abandon their nascent efforts to kick the habit, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center. Nicotine gum effective for gradual smoking reduction and cessation Nicotine gum has been in use for over 20 years to help smokers quit abruptly yet close to two-thirds of smokers report that they would prefer to quit gradually. Smoking during pregnancy fosters aggression in children Women who smoke during pregnancy risk delivering aggressive kids according to a new Canada-Netherlands study published in the journal Development and Psychopathology. While previous studies have shown that smoking during gestation causes low birth weight, this research shows mothers who light up during pregnancy can predispose their offspring to an additional risk: violent behaviour. In lung cancer, silencing one crucial gene disrupts normal functioning of genome While examining patterns of DNA modification in lung cancer, a team of international researchers has discovered what they say is a surprising new mechanism. Lung cancer cells activate inflammation to induce metastasis A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has identified a protein produced by cancerous lung epithelial cells that enhances metastasis by stimulating the activity of inflammatory cells. Smokers with stroke in the family 6 times more likely to have stroke too A new study shows that people who are smokers and have a family history of brain aneurysm appear to be significantly more likely to suffer a stroke from a brain aneurysm themselves. Antioxidants offer pain relief in patients with chronic pancreatitis Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), reports a new study in Gastroenterology. Third-hand smoke: Another reason to quit smoking Need another reason to add "Quit Smoking" to your New Year's resolutions list? How about the fact that even if you choose to smoke outside of your home or only smoke in your home when your children are not there - thinking that you're keeping them away from second-hand smoke - you're still exposing them to toxins? More Smoking Current Events and Smoking News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||