smoking & vaping
Living with a mental illness can be difficult, and some people may turn to smoking as a way to cope with symptoms or handle stressful life events. About 18 million people with mental illness currently use tobacco products, and adults with mental illness use cigarettes at higher rates than those without a mental illness.
Although it may provide temporary relief from some symptoms, smoking is not a healthy solution for managing mental illness. Nicotine can alter mood in a way that covers up symptoms, which reinforces the increased use of tobacco in people with a mental health condition. Smoking tobacco can exacerbate existing mental and physical health challenges in the short term and lead to additional negative outcomes down the road.
Quitting smoking, or smoking cessation, is tough for anyone — and it can be even harder when you have a mental illness. Although tobacco use by adults has decreased in recent years, the rate of reduction is much lower among people with mental illness.
About 70% of people with mental illness who smoke say they want to quit. Quitting is not only possible, but one of the best things you can do for your overall well-being.
Cessation treatments, nicotine replacement therapy and other strategies are safe, effective and do not increase symptoms for people with serious mental illness. Also keep in mind that treating an underlying mental illness while trying to quit results in the most success for smoking cessation.
There is no “right” way to quit, and every attempt counts — it can take multiple attempts to quit completely.
Having a mental illness is a risk factor for relapse to smoking, even for those who have avoided using tobacco for more than a year, so it’s important to have a strategy and consider cessation assistance.
Try starting with small steps such as:
- Setting a quit date
- Buying only one pack of cigarettes at a time so you run out on your quit date
- Throwing away ashtrays and lighters and cleaning your car’s interior
- Identifying what triggers your urge to smoke
- Finding healthy ways to distract yourself, like chewing bubble gum or going for a walk
- Telling someone you’re going to quit so they can help you stay accountable
When thinking about your overall strategy for quitting, there are three common options:
- Cold Turkey: completely quitting all tobacco and nicotine-containing products at the same time. While some people succeed using this method, most people will need additional support.
- Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT): products like gum, patches, lozenges, and prescription nasal sprays or inhalers that deliver measured doses of nicotine to decrease the side effects of withdrawing from tobacco. These products are available “over the counter” to people aged 18 and older and come in a variety of strengths to help decrease nicotine consumption over time.
- Prescription Medications: two medications, varenicline and bupropion, are approved by the FDA to aid in smoking cessation. They are both safe to use for people with mental illness.
- There are some risks associated with cessation products. For example, Bupropion can interact with MAOIs, a class of psychiatric medications, and is not appropriate if you are already using Wellbutrin® for psychiatric purposes. It’s important to stay in touch with your health care provider and let them know about any worsening psychiatric symptoms.
Regardless of which strategy you think is best for you, make sure to talk to your doctor about your desire to quit. Don’t wait for your provider to bring it up — research shows that only 62% of psychiatrists ask about tobacco use and/or advise their patients to stop smoking. Your doctor will answer any questions you have and help you create a personalized quit plan. Visit Help to Quit for more information about talking to your doctor when you want to quit smoking.
QuitNow-NH serves Granite Staters who want to quit tobacco use, help another person quit, and reduce tobacco’s heavy toll on New Hampshire.
Smokefree.gov provides tips, tools, and resources to create your quit plan.
Visit The Real Cost to learn more about the impacts of smoking and vaping on youth and young adults.
Learn about the impacts of tobacco and smoking on people with behavioral health conditions from the CDC.
Please note: The resources included here are not endorsed by NAMI NH, and NAMI NH is not responsible for the content of or service provided by any of these resources.
