# traits associated with smokers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214 "2011-04-29T20:58:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/121 "2011-05-04T18:05:06Z")
Smoking is strongly associated with a number of mental illnesses: > **[Smoking and Mental Illness: Results From Population Surveys in Australia and...](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/713661)** > > Strategies that address cigarette smoking in patients with mental illness and mental illness in cigarette smokers are important directions for tobacco control, this research shows. > [@](#): > > Results: In both the US and Australia, **adults who met ICD-10 criteria for mental disorders in the 12 months prior to the survey smoked at almost twice the rate of adults without mental disorders.** While approximately 20% of the adult population had 12-month mental disorders, among adult smokers approximately one-third had a 12-month mental disorder–31.7% in the US (95% CI: 29.5%–33.8%) and 32.4% in Australia (95% CI: 29.5%–35.3%). ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/122 "2011-05-04T18:23:45Z")
I’d be surprised if smokers were more likely to be regular church-goers. Evangelicals tend to frown upon smoking. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/123 "2011-05-04T19:10:44Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I’d be surprised if smokers were more likely to be regular church-goers. Evangelicals tend to frown upon smoking. And drinking. And cussing. And screwing. And judging others. It’s almost unlimited, the number of things they frown upon, and still manage to do. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/124 "2011-05-04T19:51:07Z")
Oh sure, they still do it but I say it’s still less then the general population (except for the judging part; we’ve got that down cold). I’ve belonged to numerous evangelical churches and don’t know one person who smokes regularly. There are probably some who do so without my knowledge but it’s still lower than average. I know it’s anecdotal but unless a wide study has been published that’s all I can go on. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/125 "2011-05-04T20:03:07Z")
Good one prr. Ya got me. How is the prediction going? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/126 "2011-05-04T21:19:45Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I’d be surprised if smokers were more likely to be regular church-goers. Evangelicals tend to frown upon smoking. > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > And drinking. And cussing. And screwing. And judging others. It’s almost unlimited, the number of things they frown upon, and still manage to do. Not all church goers are evangelicals…and not all evangelicals follow their church’s teachings. In fact, I’d say that evangelicals do a fair amount of “sinning”, and then figure they make up for it by going to church on Wednesday as well as Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214/127 "2011-05-05T18:47:43Z")
[This page](http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5444a3.htm#tab1) breaks up smokers by state and Utah (10.5%) has by far the fewest smokers among the states (by my eyeball Cali is next with 14.8%). The LDS church frowns upon smoking and this seems pretty strong circumstantial evidence that religion plays a part in smoking rates. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-associated-with-smokers/580214.md?page=6)