How to face the association between tobacco and psychosis

Evidences suggest an association between tobacco and psychosis. However, the reasons why people with psychosis have a higher tendency to smoke than the general population are not yet clear. Recently, Gurillo et al. reported that daily use of tobacco is associated with an increased risk of psychotic disorder and an earlier age of onset of psychotic illness. His study also calculated a significant mean difference in age at onset, expressed in years, and estimated the prevalence of smoking in people with their first episode of psychosis. According to this and other findings, it could be said that the causes of the smoking-schizophrenia association are complex and cannot be explained solely as a result of some aspect of schizophrenia. Thus, new studies in this area are needed, as well as strategies that look for the monitoring of smoking effects in order to reduce it among individuals with schizophrenia. Key-words: Tobacco, Psychosis, Illness.