Smoking and mental health: the neglected epidemic Mary-Grace Burinski Development Lead – Inequalities

Scotland smoke-free by…..

Signs are good…..

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 Burinski Development Lead – Inequalities ASH Scotland 8 Frederick Street Edinburgh EH2 2HB Tel: