Smoking and Schizophrenia

It has been recognized for many years that patients with psychiatric illnesses, especially schizophrenia, smoke to excess. However, recently there has been a resurgence of interest in the high prevalence of nicotine addiction in patients with schizophrenia. It has become increasingly clear that heavy cigarette smoking is intimately associated with the schizophrenic illness and that this may have implications for the underlying neurobiology of schizophrenia.