[shkkmo]

This study seems like it is just yet again confirming the correlation. Since they aren't performing any intervention, all they can do is statistical analysis to show the strength of that correlation.

I am not convinced by the argument that people starting to smoke long before their first mental health hospitalization means anything since mental health problems tend to start long before hospitalization.

[itslennysfault]

Yeah, I find it much more believable that people suffering from mental health problems are more likely to smoke (or do drugs other risky behavior) than that smoking causes mental health problems.

[shkkmo]

It's probably (as with so many things) both.

Smoking could easily both provide acute relief from mental health issues while chronically making those same issues worse.