Tobacco Cessation Interventions and Smoke-Free Policies in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities — United States, 2016

• DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6718a3
• Publication Date: 2018-05-10T14:01:33Z
• Authors: Kristy Marynak; Brenna VanFrank; Sonia Tetlow; Margaret Mahoney; Elyse Phillips; Ahmed Jamal, MBBS; Anna Schecter; Doug Tipperman; Stephen Babb
• Keywords: Hospitals, Psychiatric; Tobacco Use Cessation; Health Services Accessibility; United States; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Smoke-Free Policy; 0302 clinical medicine; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Full Report; Substance Abuse Treatment Centers

Persons with mental or substance use disorders or both are more than twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as persons without such disorders and are more likely to die from smoking-related illness than from their behavioral health conditions (1,2). However, many persons with behavioral health conditions want to and are able to quit smoking, although they might require more intensive treatment (2,3). Smoking cessation reduces smoking-related disease risk and could improve mental health and drug and alcohol recovery outcomes (1,3,4). To assess tobacco-related policies and practices in mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities (i.e., behavioral health treatment facilities) in the United States (including Puerto Rico), CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) analyzed data from the 2016 National Mental Health Services Survey (N-MHSS) and the 2016 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). In 2016, among mental health treatment facilities, 48.9% reported screening patients for tobacco use, 37.6% offered tobacco cessation counseling, 25.2% offered nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), 21.5% offered non-nicotine tobacco cessation medications, and 48.6% prohibited smoking in all indoor and outdoor locations (i.e., smoke-free campus). In 2016, among substance abuse treatment facilities, 64.0% reported screening patients for tobacco use, 47.4% offered tobacco cessation counseling, 26.2% offered NRT, 20.3% offered non-nicotine tobacco cessation medications, and 34.5% had smoke-free campuses. Full integration of tobacco cessation interventions into behavioral health treatment, coupled with implementation of tobacco-free campus policies in behavioral health treatment settings, could decrease tobacco use and tobacco-related disease and could improve behavioral health outcomes among persons with mental and substance use disorders (1-4).