People with Mental Health Challenges
How Big Tobacco Targets People With Mental Health Challenges
Big Tobacco actively works to ensure that they can profit off people with mental health challenges. They funded misleading research to show that people with mental illness can use their products to relieve symptoms.1 The industry has even distributed free cigarettes in psychiatric facilities.2
Due to predatory tactics like these, people with mental health challenges have the second highest smoking and tobacco use rates in California.3 Factors such as stressful living conditions, low income, and lack of access to health coverage and care can all make attempts to quit more challenging.4
People with mental health challenges shouldn’t have to fight off Big Tobacco.
The proof is in the data
Indicator | People with Mental Health Challenges | General Population |
|---|---|---|
Adult tobacco use | ||
1. Adult cigarette use: Adult cigarette smoking prevalence | 12.5% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 6.7% |
| ||
2. Change in adult cigarette use: Rate of change in adult cigarette smoking, 2014 to 2020 | -54% The 2020 estimate is significantly lower than the 2014 estimate. | -46.4% |
| ||
3. Adult tobacco use: Adult tobacco use prevalence (e.g. cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other vaping products, other tobacco products) | 21.7% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 11.3% |
| ||
Youth tobacco use | ||
4. Youth cigarette use: Youth cigarette smoking prevalence | 3% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 1.2% |
| ||
5. Youth tobacco use: Youth tobacco use prevalence (e.g. cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other vaping products, other tobacco products) | 16.1% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 9.7% |
| ||
Secondhand smoke | ||
6. Adult secondhand tobacco exposure: Proportion of adults exposed to secondhand smoke or vape | 50.9% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 35.2% |
| ||
7. Youth secondhand tobacco exposure: Proportion of youth exposed to secondhand smoke or vape | 44.7% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 33.1% |
| ||
8. Smoke-free homes: Proportion of adults with smoke-free homes | 84.4% The estimate is significantly lower than the California general population. | 91.8% |
| ||
Cessation | ||
9. Quitting: Proportion of smokers who tried quitting in the last 12 months | 69.3% The estimate is significantly higher than the California general population. | 55.6% |
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10. Doctor advice to quit: Proportion of smokers whose doctors advised them to quit | 50.7% | 46.8% |
| ||
Kick It California | Percent of enrollees | Percent of smokers |
11. Kick It California enrollees: Proportion of Kick It California enrollees | 52.6% The estimate is significantly higher than the population’s make-up of California’s adult smokers. | 12% of smokers are People With Mental Health Challenges |
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A Story of Inequity
Tobacco’s impact on health disparities in California
For decades, the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted California’s diverse communities with predatory practices. Internal documents from Big Tobacco outline their strategies – many of which are shocking attempts to peddle deadly products by way of product discounts and manipulative advertising. They even gave away free products to youth in the past. These tactics masquerade as support for communities under the guise of cultural celebration.
Unfortunately, the tactics have worked. Big Tobacco aggressively targeted communities and, as a result, some populations have higher rates of tobacco use, experience greater secondhand smoke exposure at work and at home, and have higher rates of tobacco-related disease than the general population.1
Addressing tobacco-related health inequities is key to California’s efforts to fight tobacco, our state’s number one cause of preventable death and disease.2 Tobacco use, pricing, and its impact across California were analyzed where significant disparities were found across various populations. See how Big Tobacco affects each community in the Nation’s most diverse state.