Zyban: a new aid to smoking cessation treatment--will it work for psychiatric patients?

1. Psychiatric patients who smoke are more highly dependent on nicotine and are less likely to be successful at quitting. When they attempt to quit, depression is more likely to be a part of the withdrawal process. 2. Careful monitoring is required when psychiatric patients abruptly start or stop smoking. Clinicians must be aware that changes in smoking status will affect the actions and side effects of neuroleptic medications. Prescribing clinicians should ask about their patients' smoking patterns on a regular basis. 3. Psychiatric nurses have an ethical responsibility to identify individuals at risk of smoking-related disease, to inform current and future smokers about the risks of cigarette smoking, and to provide counseling and education for those who wish to quit.