Helping patients with mental illness quit smoking can be particularly challenging; however, there are evidenced based strategies that can help. In this article, we review the evidence for smoking cessation medications in patients with mental illness and highlight some important special considerations.

Muscle relaxants encompass medications with different mechanisms of action—many of which have been used for decades. Yet most are sedating, can have significant side effects, and can interact with opioids and other substances to worsen CNS and respiratory depression.