 Persons with mental illness, making up about 20% of the population, consume about 33% of the tobacco used.Persons with serious mental illness die 25 years earlier than average, often from smoking related illnesses.In November 2015, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention noted in their report, “The percentage of U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes declined from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 16.8 percent in 2014.