Tobacco-Free Recovery: Vital for Behavioral Health

It may come as a surprise to some that the major threat to the health of clients with behavioral health issues is not the underlying mental health condition or the use of substances such as alcohol, cocaine, or heroin. As serious as those problems are, they are not the chief killer of persons with behavioral health issues. Rather, the adverse health consequences of tobacco use are the main culprits. Currently we are in the midst of a culture change, as behavioral health treatment evolves from a situation where cigarette smoking was either tolerated as the lesser of evils or even encouraged as a way to reward “good behavior,” to one in which smoking cessation is viewed as a major treatment goal. This article will review why that is so and what behavioral health treatment providers can do to help preserve the health of their clients.