Smoking cessation treatment for patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE

This study was an uncontrolled trial to assess the efficacy of a smoking cessation group program modified for individuals with schizophrenia.

METHOD

Fifty outpatients with schizophrenia were divided into five groups who met separately for seven weekly sessions of a smoking cessation program. The subjects' schizophrenic and extrapyramidal symptoms were assessed before the group sessions began and after they had been completed. Assessments of smoking were made at those times and at 3-month and 6-month follow-ups.

RESULTS

Forty-two percent of the subjects had stopped smoking at the end of the group sessions; 16% remained abstinent at 3 months, and 12% at 6 months. These changes were statistically significant. There was no change in the positive or negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that it is possible for individuals with schizophrenia to stop smoking.