Smoking and mental health:the neglected epidemic
Mary-Grace BurinskiDevelopment Lead –
Inequalities
Scotland smoke-free by…..
Signs are good…..
19741977
19801983
19861989
19921995
19982001
20042007
20102013
20162019
20222025
20282031
20342037
20400
10
20
30
40
50
60
Adult (age 16+) smoking prevalence in Scotland: 1974 to 2042from the General Household Survey, the Scottish Household Survey and
Scottish Government projections
General Household Survey, Scottish Sample (1974 - 1998)
Scottish Household Survey (1999-2014)
Scottish Government Projections (2015-2042)
Year of survey
% o
f adu
lts (1
6+) w
ho sm
oke
2034 Tar-get
Right on track
Wrong!!!!
It’s a bit more complicated:
• Smoking rates in most affluent areas of Scotland decreased by 50% since 1999– BUT decline is only 25% in most deprived areas where
smoking rates are now 4 times higher
• Around 1 in 5 children under 16 still live in a household where someone smokes
Smoking prevalence highest among patients of mental health facilities:
Upwards of 70%(Source: RCP and RPsych, 2013)
Health inequalities
People with mental health issues: • Suffer from very poor physical health outcomes• Live with more physical illness• Die at an earlier age:
– 9-20 years shorter life expectancy for people with bipolar disorder
– 10-20 years shorter life expectancy for people with schizophrenia
– 7-11 years shorter life expectancy for people with recurrent depression
These deaths are largely preventable
What are we doing?
Need to accept that smoking is part of the problem
• Scotland’s current mental health strategy runs out at the end of 2015
• Development of the new strategy is underway
This gives us the opportunity to address the impact of physical health – in particular smoking – on the lives of people with mental health issues.
We need to do this:
Mary-Grace BurinskiDevelopment Lead – Inequalities
ASH Scotland8 Frederick Street
EdinburghEH2 2HB
[email protected]: 0131 225 4725