Smoking Down for Those with Certain Psychiatric Disorders

Significant reductions in cigarette use were found among U.S. adults with major depression, substance use disorder or both from 2006 to 2019, according to a new analysis of nationally representative survey data published in JAMA.

The study was conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These findings suggest that groups at higher risk of cigarette smoking can be reached by, and may have benefitted from, tobacco use prevention and cessation efforts that have led to significant declines in tobacco use in the general population. At the same time, the findings highlight remaining disparities, documenting higher smoking rates in people with psychiatric disorders than in those without.

“This study shows us that, at a population level, reductions in tobacco use are achievable for people with psychiatric conditions, and smoking cessation should be prioritized along with treatments for substance use, depression and other mental health disorders for people who experience them,” said Nora Volkow, director of the NIDA and co-author of the study. “Therapies to help people stop smoking are safe, effective and may even enhance the long-term success of concurrent treatments for more severe mental health symptoms in individuals with psychiatric disorders by lowering stress, anxiety, depression and by improving overall mood and quality of life.”

“These declines tell a public health success story,” said Wilson Compton, the NIDA’s deputy director and the senior author of the study. “However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure tobacco use in patients with substance use disorder, depression or other psychiatric conditions continue to decrease. It is crucial that healthcare providers treat all the health issues that a patient experiences, not just their depression or drug use disorder at a given point in time. To do this, smoking cessation therapies need to be integrated into existing behavioral health treatments. The result will be longer and healthier lives for all people.”