Adolescent Cigarette Use in the Americas: The Link with Depression

While society’s understanding of the burden of disease associated with substance use and mental health disorders continues to grow, serious gaps remain in our ability to help all individuals with these disorders. It has been estimated that the use of tobacco and alcohol each represent 8.7% and 3.8% of all deaths worldwide. In addition, the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) caused by alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use are estimated to be 4.4%, 3.7% and 0.9%, respectively (WHO, 2009). Unfortunately, these gaps are likely to be substantially larger among racial and ethnic minorities and culturally diverse populations.