I've always had a craving for smoking....... David Meigs [log in to unmask] To change or unsubscrube to the Parkie mail list go to: http://parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/parkmail/maillist.html ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marjorie L. Moorefield" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2000 7:56 AM Subject: Smoking and Mental Illness http://www.latimes.com/health/news/20001122/t000112223.html For the full story use this URL http://www.latimes.com/health/news/20001122/t000112223.html Wednesday, November 22, 2000 Mentally Ill Twice as Likely to Be Smokers, Study Finds Tobacco: Special programs may be needed to encourage patients to quit, given their isolation and tendency to use nicotine to fight depression, experts say. By ROSIE MESTEL, Times Medical Writer Nearly half of all cigarettes purchased in the United States are smoked by people who suffer from mental illnesses, according to Harvard Medical School research. Mentally ill people are roughly twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as those without mental illnesses, according to the research, published in today's Journal of the American Medical Assn. Not only does the habit put them at greater risk for serious ailments such as heart disease and lung cancer, but in some cases it can interfere with the effectiveness of medications to treat their disorders. Smoking is often used as a form of self-medication because nicotine can have a powerful impact on mood, according to previous research. And because people with mental illnesses tend to be more cut off from mainstream society and less able to motivate themselves to quit, it may take specially targeted educational efforts to reduce the smoking rates in this group, experts say. "What works on ordinary, mentally healthy adults may not work as well when we're dealing with adults with mental problems," said John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, a Washington-based nonprofit advocacy group and a professor of public interest law at George Washington University. The numbers, though striking, are less surprising when it is considered that drug and alcohol dependencies were among the mental illnesses studied--smoking rates are high in such groups. In addition, in any given year, one in five U.S. adults is estimated to suffer from some form of mental illness. One in 20 suffers from a severe mental illness. <SNIP> just me, Marjorie 68/58/55 ********************************************************************************************* Shortcut to Mail Options click here: http://parkinsons-information-exchange-network-online.com/mailopt.html