Tobacco Use among Homeless People — Addressing the Neglected Addiction

About three quarters of homeless adults in the United States smoke, but the coexisting psychiatric and addictive conditions and circumstances of homeless smokers fuel a fatalistic attitude among health professionals toward addressing tobacco use in this population. Although the prevalence of smoking in the United States has declined, vulnerable and marginalized groups continue to use tobacco at high rates. One such group is the 2.3 to 3.5 million people nation-wide who are homeless in any given year. Approximately three quarters of homeless adults are cigarette smokers 1 — a prevalence 4 times that in the U.S. adult population and 2.5 times that among impoverished Americans in general. The coexisting psychiatric and addictive conditions and life circumstances of homeless smokers have long fueled a fatalistic attitude among health care professionals toward addressing tobacco use in this population. We believe . . .