Mental health services

People living with a mental illness are two-to-four times more likely to smoke than the general population. The rate of smoking tends to increase with the severity of mental illness and varies by diagnosis. High smoking rates and lack of access to best practice treatment contributes to widening inequities.

An organisation-wide approach is needed to embed the Ask, Advise, Help (AAH) smoking cessation brief advice model into routine practice. The AAH model outlines how to deliver best practice smoking cessation care.