Tobacco and Substance Use among Psychiatric Inpatients in a Community Hospital: Cessation Counseling, Correlates, and Patterns of Use

Abstract

Background. Epidemiological and experimental models have been applied to describe the disproportionately high prevalence of tobacco use in patients with mental illness. This observed association has become a dire public health concern. The main objective of the present study was to examine the provision of tobacco treatment strategies in a community teaching hospital serving a predominantly underserved African American population. Methods. The study was designed as a retrospective review of eight hundred and thirty patients admitted to the inpatient psychiatric units. Results. 52.2% of the entire cohort described themselves as current smokers. Gender, primary psychiatric diagnosis, and urine toxicology showed significant differences in the tobacco smoking and nontobacco smoking groups (P