Adults with mental illness smoke at higher rate: CDC

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Mentally ill adults in the United States smoke cigarettes at a 70 percent higher rate than adults without any kind of mental illness, according to a report released by federal health agencies on Tuesday. Statistics show smoking by the mentally ill is a “very serious health issue that needs more attention” and should prompt mental health facilities to ban the habit, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We need to do more to help smokers with mental illness quit,” Frieden told reporters during a telephone briefing. …