This study found that in a sample of over 700 respondents with serious mental illness, 46.8% were current tobacco users with high nicotine dependence levels. In particular, the presence of schizophrenia spectrum disorder was found to be a risk factor for tobacco use among men. Other social factors are likely to contribute to this risk for both men and women, including substance abuse and low income. These findings suggest that smoking cessation programming should be gender sensitive, as different risk factors may be involved.
