Comments on: Why Do Schizophrenics Smoke Cigarettes?

By: PolymathCDP

PolymathCDP — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:45 +0000

First of all, I like smoking, and will not quit by choice. Second of all, the hospital is boring to the point of being abusive and smoking ameliorates that. Thirdly, restricting a person’s choices for no proven reason is an harassment unrelated to treatment, other than it is likewise unlawful.

By: Frank Tsu

Frank Tsu — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:30:21 +0000

The brain receptors that are associated with nicotine addiction are also in play with schizophrenics.
http://www.dailyrx.com/news-article/why-smoking-calms-schizophrenia-11392.html
The brain receptors called alpha-7 subunit are found reduced in schizophrenics.

By: Cigarettes as a Positive Factor in Treating Mental Illness? « Paucis Verbis

Cigarettes as a Positive Factor in Treating Mental Illness? « Paucis Verbis — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:44:04 +0000

[...] it “Inhumane” to Take Cigarettes Away from Schizophrenics?In an article for Brain Blogger a couple of years ago, I looked into the astonishing fact that, as a typical study of in-patient [...]

By: Marchelle Luvene

Marchelle Luvene — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:42:09 +0000

Awsome info and straight to the point. I don’t know if this is truly the best place to ask but do you guys have any ideea where to hire some professional writers? Thank you

By: When Bipolar Patients Abuse Drugs – The Dual Diagnosis Dilemma | Brain Blogger

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:59:55 +0000

[...] an existing bipolar disorder. This explanation is often invoked to explain the very high rates of cigarette smoking among schizophrenics. However, it fails to account for the fact that manic depressives often use stimulant drugs when [...]

By: Smoking, neurodiversity, and pragmatism « Urocyon's Meanderings

Smoking, neurodiversity, and pragmatism « Urocyon's Meanderings — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:16:33 +0000

[...] lots of research on this kind of thing. A decent summary? Dirk Hanson’s Why Do Schizophrenics Smoke Cigarettes?: The review of studies through 1999, undertaken by Lyon and published in Psychiatric Services, [...]

By: maxwood

maxwood — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:18:52 +0000

I note that it took months and over 20 comments before Steve Clay finally appeared and mentioned e-cigarettes. As the technology develops, e-cigarettes permit exact titration of nicotine (or other ingredients) as needed, supply the psychological comforts of handling a cigarette, and are inoffensive enough that they should reasonably be exempt from smoking bans.

Edahn (Oct. 4, ’09) also had an excellent idea concerning music. Consider that even merely listening permits acquiring a structured memory of tunes and compositions which supplies some of the experience of having relations with a family. (Symphony– the word could mean “similar to a family”– contains examples of interrelations between tunes, themes, movements, instrumental timbres, etc. which exercise the family perception.)

Now add the obvious and very inexpensive (compared to some of those drugs) recourse of supplying a collection of instruments to which patients can have access, and hopefully whatever leadership assistance is needed to form an orchestra in which patients can participate and cooperate in a joint creation of quasi-family experience. And blowing a clarinet sure beats sucking on a hot burning overdose cigarette.

By: Mirjam

Mirjam — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:53:12 +0000

It is interesting to think about the relationship of a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, to cigarette smoking. I would like to read more about it.

By: Steve Clay

Steve Clay — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:36:00 +0000

This sounds like a population which could really benefit from e-cigarettes.

By: Dirk Hanson

Dirk Hanson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:56:13 +0000

It’s not a terribly popular idea, but I think that schizophrenics and the alzheimer’s-prone elderly might benefit from the use of nicotine patches as maintenance medicine.

By: JHoff

JHoff — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:12:50 +0000

Its well known that before anti-psychotics nicotine was a treatment for psychosis and schizophrenia. If the mentally ill respond so well to it, why don’t they combine nicotine with therapy? There are other ways to get nicotine. I have a brother who is schizophrenic, and when he was well he hated smokers. He now smokes as much as he can. Its sad. I wouldn’t even think of asking him to quit. Obviously he sees a benefit. Can’t the health care community see the benefit and make this healthier?

By: Derek Williams

Derek Williams — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:32:21 +0000

It’s long been of interest to me that there exists such an obvious link between tobacco smoking and serious mental illness, yet there has never – to my knowledge – been any suspicion of there being a causal link between tobacco use and the illness.

During the recent cannabis and mental health scare great play was made of the claim that cannabis altered the dopeamine balance in the brain and for a while this was suggested as a possible causal mechanism., yet this was never mentioned in respect of tobacco.

Whilst it’s important of course to remmeber that a correlation of use of a particular substance and metnal illness doesn’t imply a causal role, the correlation betwen tobacco use and mental illness is far greater than any such correlation for cannabis.

Is there any research which looks at the rates of severe mental illness amongst young people who started smoking as young teenagers? I’m not aware of any but it would be interesting to see if psychosis rates are higher amongst young smokers than non-smokers.

By: Edahn

Edahn — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:53:54 +0000

This was a big issue when I was working in the California State Hospital system as an advocate. One other reason there’s so much smoking is because state hospital life is totally restrictive. Smoking a cigarette is one of the few activities patients can engage in in private that has a somewhat meditative quality. Listening to music — another cherished activity — is another. An interesting study, imo, would be to look at smoking rates of patients IN THE SAME HOSPITAL with schizophrenia and non-schizophrenia diagnoses and see if there’s a difference.

By: Maria

Maria — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:10:26 +0000

When I was on haloperidol and rendered into a state of complete zombification,there was only one tiny window in the day when I felt like the happy, alive person I was before the onset of my psychotic episode and the ensuing forced medication.It was when I smoked my first cigarette of the day. Even though it was 30 years ago, and I was only on the drug for 3 months, that memory of my brief moment of happiness each morning is still as vivid as if it were yesterday. .

By: And Now for Something Completely Different: Encephalon 74 « N e u r o n a r r a t i v e

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:39:43 +0000

[...] here’s a question you don’t hear every day: Why do schizophenics smoke cigarettes? That’s the topic on tap at Brain Blogger, and it’s addressed splendidly. Dopamine, [...]