title: Smokers with behavioral health comorbidity should be designated a tobacco use disparity group.
abstract: Smokers with co-occurring mental illness or substance use disorders are not designated a disparity group or priority population by most national public health and tobacco control groups. These smokers fulfill the criteria commonly used to identify groups that merit special attention: targeted marketing by the tobacco industry, high smoking prevalence rates, heavy economic and health burdens from tobacco, limited access to treatment, and longer durations of smoking with less cessation. A national effort to increase surveillance, research, and treatment is needed. Designating smokers with behavioral health comorbidity a priority group will bring much-needed attention and resources. The disparity in smoking rates among persons with behavioral health issues relative to the general population will worsen over time if their needs remain unaddressed.
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-2008, USA. jill.williams@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Marc L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: Kim Gesell
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cooperman
mesh_terms: D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006292:Health Priorities; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology