People with Behavioral Health Conditions Experience a Health Burden From Commercial Tobacco

At a glance

  • Almost 40% of all cigarettes smoked by U.S. adults are consumed by people with behavioral health conditions.
  • The most common causes of death among people with behavioral health conditions are heart disease, cancer, and lung disease, which can all be caused by smoking.
Four icons of a person, one green and three blue

Overview

Commercial tobacco prevents achieving health equity for people with behavioral health conditions.A1 For example:

  • In 2019, 27.2% of adults with a mental health condition reported smoking cigarettes in the past month—compared to 15.8% of adults with no mental health condition.2
  • The most common causes of death among people with behavioral health conditions are heart disease, cancer, and lung disease, which can all be caused by smoking.345
  • People with mental health conditions who smoke cigarettes have two times the risk of premature death than people with behavioral health conditions who do not smoke.6
  • People with behavioral health conditions are targets of aggressive commercial tobacco marketing.78
  • People with behavioral health conditions may not be protected from secondhand smoke when seeking services in behavioral health treatment settings. Only about half of mental health treatment centers and one-third of substance use disorder treatment centers report having a smokefree campus.9 There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Almost 40% of all cigarettes smoked by U.S. adults are consumed by people with behavioral health conditions.
U.S. adults with behavioral health conditions are targeted by tobacco companies.
  • People with certain diagnoses, such as depression and anxiety, or people with substance use disorders (other than tobacco use disorder) are more likely to use commercial tobacco than those without these disorders.10111213 For example, nearly 90% of adults with schizophrenia reported smoking cigarettes in a 2006 survey.14
Nearly 90% of adults with schizophrenia said they smoke cigarettes
More adults with a mental health condition reported smoking cigarettes compared to adults with no mental health condition.
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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; Office on Smoking and Health
  1. "Commercial tobacco" means harmful products that are made and sold by tobacco companies. It does not include "traditional tobacco" used by Indigenous groups for religious or ceremonial purposes.
  1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality; 2017. Accessed Feb 25, 2022. .
  2. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2020. Accessed Feb 25, 2022.
  3. Druss BG, Zhao L, Von Esenwein S, Morrato EH, Marcus SC. . Med Care. 2011;49(6):599–604. DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e31820bf86e
  4. Schroeder S A, Morris CD. . Annual Review of Public Health. 2010;31:297–314. DOI:
  5. Richter KP, Arnsten JH. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2006;1(1):23. DOI: .
  6. Tam J, Warner KE, Meza R. Am J Prev Med. 2016; 51(6):958–966. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.06.007.
  7. Apollonio DE, Malone RE. Tob Control. 2005;14(6):409-415. DOI: 10.1136/tc.2005.011890.
  8. Campbell BK, Le T, Andrews KB, Pramod S, Guydish J. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2016;42(6):649-656. DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2016.1183021.
  9. Marynak K, Vanfrank B, Tetlow S, Mahoney M, Phillips E, Jamal A, et al. Tobacco Cessation Interventions and Smoke-Free Policies in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities—United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(18):519-23. DOI: .
  10. Jamal A, Phillips E, Gentzke AS, Homa DM, Babb SD, King BA, et al. Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults - United States, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(2):53-59. DOI: .
  11. Cook BL, Wayne GF, Kafali EN, Liu Z, Shu C, Flores M. . JAMA. 2014;311(2):172–182. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.284985.
  12. Dickerson F, Schroeder J, Katsafanas E, Khushalani S, Origoni AE, Savage C, et al. . Psychiatr Serv. 2018;69(2):147-153. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201700118.
  13. Young-Wolff KC, Hickman NJ 3rd, Kim R, Gali K, Prochaska JJ. . Nicotine Tob Res. 2015;17(3):285-291. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntu141.
  14. NIH State-of-the-Science Panel. . Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:839-844. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-145-11-200612050-00141