Why do patients with schizophrenia smoke?

Greg Winterer
Current Opinion in Psychiatry: 23(2) March 2010
ISSN: 0951-7367 • Frequency: 6/year • Impact Factor: 3.774 • Subscribe Now

Among the mentally ill, smoking prevalence is highest in patients with schizophrenia. This can impose a significant financial burden on patients, not to speak of increased smoking-related morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is critical for clinicians to understand why patients with schizophrenia smoke in order to adapt treatment schemes. Understanding the reasons may also help to develop new drugs that target the nicotinic system in the brain as well as smoking cessation programs that are specifically designed for this particular patient population.

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