People with schizophrenia more likely to smoke3
Smoking is the largest preventable cause of early death in people with mental health conditions. We join hands with mental health practitioners across the world to strive to support people with mental health conditions quit smoking and live a healthier and longer life.
We believe in Parity of Esteem : everyone, whether they suffer with a mental health condition or not, have an equal right of access to comprehensive support to quit smoking and live a healthier life.
During covid times, an online smoke-free mental health ‘summit’ was created in September 2020 and was delivered to our partner institutions. This was to empower mental health professionals at our partner institutions with latest evidence-based smoking cessation tools in supporting their smoker patients quit smoking sustainably.
Smoking is the largest preventable cause of early death in people with mental health conditions. Mental hospital sites in England were expected to be smoke-free by now. However, these sites have numerous challenges unique to mental health in achieving and supporting smoking cessation. Policies to achieve smoke-free ‘sites’ can only be delivered if all staff members are empowered with the latest best practice and practical tools in smoking cessation support. An e-learning course was designed and delivered to our partner institutions to help with their journey on becoming truly and sustainably smoke-free.
Our aim is to bridge the policy and practice gap in tobacco control. We believe that healthcare professionals (HCPs) are in a unique position to credibly and opportunistically advise their smoker patients on tobacco cessation. We are conducting systematic research and developing educational tools for HCPs to equip them with the latest evidence-based and nationally recommended cessation approaches.
