The impact of a smoking cessation policy on visits to a psychiatric emergency department.

Objective: Smoking cessation policies are increasingly imposed in mental health facilities because of the high prevalence of tobacco smoking and its related adverse health consequences. The objective of this study was to measure the impact of 2 smoking cessation policies--one imposed in a specific psychiatric hospital and the other across the entire province of Ontario--on weekly visit rates to a psychiatric emergency department.

Methods: Administrative data records from consecutive patient visits to a psychiatric emergency department were grouped by week from March 1, 2002, to December 31, 2005.