Mental health and smoking

Mental health and smoking

If you have a mental illness, you are more likely to smoke. 42% of all cigarettes smoked in England are by people with mental health problems.

The more you smoke, the more likely you are to:

• develop a mental illness – but it's unclear why
• feel anxious or depressed
• think about suicide - and to go on to commit suicide
• use more drugs and alcohol – which can make a mental health problem worse.

Overall, if you have a mental health problem and smoke, you are more likely to have poor general health – it's one of the main reasons why people with a mental health problem tend to die younger.

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/smokingandmentalhealth.aspx