The high smoking prevalence among persons with mental illness imposes a heavy burden in lost life expectancy (22) and constitutes a major public health disparity in a uniquely vulnerable population. To reduce this burden and disparity, efforts are needed to raise awareness and increase collaboration among mental health and tobacco control programs at the national, state, and local levels. Several national organizations and federal government agencies have recently called attention to the problem of tobacco use among persons with mental illness. For example, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center have conducted Leadership Academies for Wellness and Smoking Cessation in Behavioral Health to support states in developing action plans to reduce smoking prevalence in this population.¶¶ Implementation of tobacco-free campus policies in mental health facilities and full integration of tobacco dependence treatment into mental health care can contribute to decreasing smoking among persons with AMI. Finally, continued surveillance is needed to track implementation of these policy and clinical interventions and to monitor progress in addressing this disparity.
