Tobacco smoking is more common among people with mental illness, compared to the general population. People with more severe mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, have particularly high smoking rates. There are a number of reasons for the higher prevalence of smoking among people with mental illness. These include:

• Perception that smoking is helpful in relieving/managing psychiatric symptoms or side-effects from medication (however evidence suggests that mental health and quality of life may actually improve after quitting smoking)
• Increased difficulty of quitting while also dealing with mental health symptoms
• Quit attempts being discouraged by healthcare providers due to the mistaken belief that quitting will worsen mental health
• Higher rates of psychosocial disadvantage among people with mental illness (e.g., lower income, education, and employment)
• Using smoking as a way to “fit in” and cope with the stigma and exclusion association with mental illness
• Shared genetic predisposition to both smoking and mental illness.