Smoking-cessation for patients with acute psychiatric illness

Abstract

Context: Legal measures forbidding smoking in public places- as hospitals, conducted to a rising preoccupation for smoking cessation in psychiatric patients. But, little is known about the efficient way to proceed with in-patients in acute phase of psychiatric disorders. The aim of this paper is to expose a way to integrate smoking-cessation in psychiatric care, called Smoking Cessation Program (SCP); and the encouraging results on smoking reduction on 31 in-patients. Methods: SCP consisted on a cognitive and behavioural, motivational, and nicotinic replacement intensive program, integrated in psychiatric care. Results: SCP showed efficacy on cigarette consumption at short and medium- term (50% of initial value at 6 months), with a parallel decrease of anxiety and depressive symptoms in psychiatric heavy smokers. Conclusion: SCP is an interesting way to help psychiatric patients to reduce smoking without worsening their psychiatric symptoms. Studies with greater samples are needed to confirm those results and generaliz