Schizophrenia and Smoking - Essay Example

Smoking among schizophrenics al affiliation Smoking among schizophrenics Recently, the number of smokers in the general population has risen to considerably high levels. Estimates show that approximately 30 % of the typical population is made up of smokers. However, this is nothing compared to the number of schizophrenic people who smoke. Statistics from Winterer (2010) indicate that roughly 80 % of schizophrenics are smokers. This is the reason why medical professionals, especially clinicians have been researching on this issue.

Research has been conducted to find out the reason for prevalent smoking among schizophrenics. Biological mechanisms are one of the explanations that clinicians give for high levels of smoking among schizophrenics. Under this approach, it is believed that schizophrenics smoke, because the nicotine contained in the cigarette helps them deal with neurological aspects of the body. Nicotine is a natural stimulant, which increases alertness. Schizophrenics, therefore, become addicted to smoking since it enables them concentrate more on their tasks.

When a schizophrenic person smokes, their cognitive performance increases. In order to sustain brain efficiency, schizophrenics require constant nicotine intake. Apart from biological means, chain smoking in schizophrenics can be associated to social issues. Since schizophrenics are delusional people, it is argued that smoking is the only thing that keeps them busy (Winterer, 2010). Schizophrenics are seen as idle people in the society, therefore, drawing a conclusion to the effect that schizophrenics smoke for lack of nothing better to do.

From the above, it is manifest that biology does have a lot to do with schizophrenic smoking. Nicotine obviously, enables schizophrenics control their nervous system, thereby enabling them keep concentration. It has, however, been established that there are other mechanisms for explaining schizophrenic smoking and biology alone is insufficient to explain this phenomenon.ReferencesWinterer, G. (2010). Why do patients with schizophrenia smoke? Dusseldorf: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 23, 112-119.