Insurance Coverage Reduces Cigarette Use in People Living with Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders

November 30, 2022

An article recently published in Addiction found that insurance coverage is associated with reduced cigarette use in people living with mental illness or substance use disorder. People within this demographic are at increased risk of cigarette use, especially when they are under- or uninsured. The study examined data from nearly 450,000 respondents of the US National Survey of Drug Use and Health Surveys from 2009-2019.

According to , “Having health insurance for at least 10 of the 12 months prior to being surveyed was strongly associated with a reduction in the likelihood of any current smoking (–14.2 points; 95% CI, –14.7 to –13.7) or daily smoking (–12.3 points; 95% CI, –12.8 to –11.8), and an increase in the likelihood of recent smoking abstinence (3.7 points; 95% CI, 3.2-4.3).”

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