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About 1 in 4 adults aged 18 or older (24.3 percent; 55.9 million persons) smoked cigarettes in the month prior to the survey. However, adults with past year AMI were more likely to have smoked than those without mental illness (36.1 vs. 21.4 percent) (Table 1). The association between cigarette use and mental illness was found among both genders and among age groups (Table 1), as well as among age groups within both genders (Figure 1). For example, 45.6 percent of males aged 18 to 25 with AMI smoked in the past month, compared with 36.8 percent of males aged 18 to 25 without mental illness. Among females in this age group, 39.2 percent of those with AMI smoked in the past month, compared with 25.1 percent of those with no mental illness.
Mental Illness and Smoking Status | Total | Aged 18 to 25 |
Aged 26 to 49 |
Aged 50 or Older |
Male | Female |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Percentage Who Smoked in the Past Month: Any Mental Illness |
36.1%* | 41.8%* | 39.9%* | 25.7%* | 39.6%* | 33.8%* |
Percentage Who Smoked in the Past Month: No Mental Illness |
21.4% | 31.4% | 25.1% | 15.1% | 24.4% | 18.4% |
Percentage of Lifetime Daily Smokers Who Smoked in Last Month: Any Mental Illness |
66.0%* | 85.9%* | 72.2%* | 46.8%* | 66.5%* | 65.7%* |
Percentage of Lifetime Daily Smokers Who Smoked in Last Month: No Mental Illness |
47.4% | 82.4% | 60.3% | 32.2% | 46.9% | 48.1% |
Number of Cigarettes Smoked in the Past Month: Any Mental Illness |
331* | 202* | 351* | 441* | 347* | 320* |
Number of Cigarettes Smoked in the Past Month: No Mental Illness |
310 | 176 | 304 | 399 | 327 | 288 |
* Difference between those with any mental illness and those with no mental illness is statistically significant at the .05 level. Source: SAMHSA, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), 2009 to 2010 (revised March 2012), 2011. |
Status | Male | Female | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aged 18 to 25* |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older* |
Aged 18 to 25* |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older* |
|
Any Mental Illness | 45.6% | 43.2% | 28.6% | 39.2% | 37.7% | 24.0% |
No Mental Illness | 36.8% | 28.2% | 16.6% | 25.1% | 21.8% | 13.8% |
* Difference between those with any mental illness and those with no mental illness is statistically significant at the .05 level. Source: SAMHSA, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), 2009 to 2010 (revised March 2012), 2011. |
Rates of past month cigarette use among those who had smoked daily at some time in their lives (hereafter referred to as "lifetime daily smokers") indicate how smoking cessation has varied across population groups. High rates of past month cigarette use among lifetime daily smokers in specific population groups indicate that few people in those groups have quit smoking.
Two thirds (66.0 percent) of lifetime daily smokers with past year AMI smoked in the past month, compared with less than half (47.4 percent) of lifetime daily smokers without mental illness (Table 1). The association between past month cigarette use among lifetime daily smokers and mental illness was found among both genders and among age groups. With one exception, this pattern was also found among both age groups within both genders (Figure 2). For example, 73.6 percent of male lifetime daily smokers aged 26 to 49 with AMI smoked in the past month, compared with 60.9 percent of same-aged male lifetime daily smokers without mental illness. Among females in this age group, 71.2 percent of those with AMI smoked in the past month, compared with 59.4 percent of those with no mental illness. The single exception to this pattern was found among males aged 18 to 25; in this age group, male lifetime smokers with and without AMI were equally likely to have smoked in the past month.
Status | Male | Female | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aged 18 to 25 |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older* |
Aged 18 to 25* |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older* |
|
Any Mental Illness | 86.6% | 73.6% | 45.3% | 85.3% | 71.2% | 47.8% |
No Mental Illness | 84.7% | 60.9% | 30.0% | 78.8% | 59.4% | 35.0% |
* Difference between those with any mental illness and those with no mental illness is statistically significant at the .05 level. Source: SAMHSA, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), 2009 to 2010 (revised March 2012), 2011. |
Overall, the average number of cigarettes smoked in the past month was higher among adults aged 18 or older with past year AMI than among those who did not have AMI (331 vs. 310 cigarettes). For both genders and age groups, the number of cigarettes smoked was greater among those with AMI than among those without (Table 1). This pattern was also generally seen for age groups within both genders (Figure 3). For example, male smokers aged 18 to 25 with AMI smoked a greater number of cigarettes in the past month than those without mental illness (218 vs. 181 cigarettes). In the same age group, female smokers with AMI smoked an average of 190 cigarettes per month, whereas those without mental illness smoked an average of 167 cigarettes per month. The single exception to this pattern was among males aged 50 or older; for this group, the average number of cigarettes smoked was similar for current smokers with and without AMI.
Status | Male | Female | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aged 18 to 25* |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older |
Aged 18 to 25* |
Aged 26 to 49* |
Aged 50 or Older* |
|
Any Mental Illness | 218 | 375 | 445 | 190 | 332 | 438 |
No Mental Illness | 181 | 320 | 442 | 167 | 282 | 350 |
* Difference between those with any mental illness and those with no mental illness is statistically significant at the .05 level. Source: SAMHSA, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs), 2009 to 2010 (revised March 2012), 2011. |
National, State, and local smoking cessation campaigns have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of Americans who smoke. Although smoking has decreased, certain groups, such as persons with mental illness, have higher rates of smoking than the general population. The data from NSDUH indicate that adults with past year mental illness are more likely to be current smokers and less likely to have stopped smoking than adults who did not experience mental illness in the past year. Likewise, current smokers with past year mental illness smoke more cigarettes, on average, than do those without past year mental illness. Policymakers, mental health practitioners, and public health service providers can use this information to better understand and address the needs of this group to make progress in lowering the rates of smoking among persons with mental illness.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The combined 2009 to 2011 data used in this report are based on information obtained from 138,000 adults aged 18 or older. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence. The NSDUH Report is prepared by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ), SAMHSA, and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.) Information on the most recent NSDUH is available in the following publication: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2012). Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of national findings (HHS Publication No. SMA 12-4713, NSDUH Series H-44). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Also available online: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH.aspx. |
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