University of Wisconsin doctor and UW-CTRI collaborator Dr. Eric Heiligenstein was a featured speaker at a meeting chaired by U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin July 28 in Washington, D.C. Heiligenstein discussed an important challenge—how smoking affects Americans with mental-health diagnoses or multiple drug addictions; these patients smoke half of the cigarettes in America. At the meeting of the U.S. Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health, Heiligenstein presented innovative efforts in Wisconsin to help patients with psychiatric diagnoses quit smoking.

“We’re partnering with clinics and clinicians across the state to let them know that their patients are more likely to die prematurely from tobacco use than suicide or any other cause,” he said. “We’re not just telling them, ‘It’s a good idea for your patients to quit smoking.’ We’re showing them what treatments work best and how to connect with smokers.”

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and UW Dr. Eric Heiligenstein

Not too long ago, mental-health professionals used cigarettes as rewards for good behavior. “Smoke breaks” were the norm, and staff would smoke alongside patients. Now, most mental-health and addiction facilities do not allow tobacco on the premises, and Heiligenstein and his collaborators are working to systematically assure that health-care providers intervene with inpatients or outpatients who smoke. Some providers still have mistaken beliefs—like their patients shouldn’t quit, don’t want to quit, or can’t quit.

“We’ve learned that most smokers with mental-health or addiction issues want to quit,” said Bruce Christiansen, coordinator of the Wisconsin Nicotine Treatment Integration Project (WiNTiP), managed by UW-CTRI. “Most health-care providers in this field want to be trained on how to help their patients quit smoking. Problem is this is rarely taught in school. And for those who did learn, new treatments have developed. So WiNTiP is here to help providers and patients across the state.”

More than 44 percent of American patients who die from smoking have a psychiatric diagnosis. That’s 193,600 American patients a year. Half of those with depression smoke, 80 percent of alcoholics light up and nearly 90 percent of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are addicted. “We hope that this meeting with Surgeon General Benjamin will spark more treatment of smoking among our most vulnerable patients,” Heiligenstein said, “not just in Wisconsin but across the nation.” WiNTiP is funded by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.