People with intellectual disabilities are vulnerable to smoking

Smoking is a health hazard, especially for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the more serious it is. The medical community tends to ignore the tobacco-related burdens that these people face. The June issue of intellectual disabilities and development has published an extensive study on this topic.

Doctor Marc L. Steinberg, assistant professor of psychology at UMDNJ said, 'This issue is very important, cannot be ignored. Usually, health care professionals don't ask these people about smoking. ' Steinberg and his colleagues report that they can recognize the negative consequences of smoking only appearing in this group:

- The risk of poverty for people with disabilities or intellectual disabilities is three times higher than for normal people. Therefore, they tend to smoke to lessen financial worries.
- Cigarettes can reduce the effect of some drugs commonly prescribed for this group.
- Ironically, many of these people become addicted to cigarettes at facilities that intend to help them. In the past, hospitals and treatment facilities even gave cigarettes to mental patients and intellectual disabilities or developed as a reward.

Smoking is a health hazard, especially for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the more serious it is.(Photo: freakingnews)

In the rare opportunities to access the smoking cessation program, these groups often do not fully understand the harmful effects of tobacco because they do not fully understand the information given to them.

Steinberg said that 'like most other patients, this group needs to receive support to give up if they smoke, and protect themselves from the smoke environment if they don't smoke.'

UMDNJ is the largest independent public health science school in the United States with over 5700 students studying at 3 public medical schools, a dentist school, a biomedical school, a school of related careers. to health, a nursing school, a community health school, at 5 different campuses. Every year, more than 2 million patients visit UMDNJ facilities and universities in Newark, New Brunswick / Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates a network of medical universities, medical centers that treat trauma and neurological problems.