The popular belief that smoking relieves stress, anxiety and that it acts as a relaxing or calming companion, is completely disproved with this new study carried out by University College London (United Kingdom) and published by the journal of the British Heart Foundation . Rather, the opposite happens. Smoking increases the risk of anxiety and depression by 70% .
For their research, the scientists had the participation of 6,500 people (both smokers and non-smokers) over 40 years of age, discovering, after a psychological analysis of all of them, that 18.3% of smokers had symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to 10% of non-smokers and 11.3% of ex-smokers. The study thus debunks the myth that tobacco relaxes.
“There is a belief by many smokers that smoking reduces anxiety and stress, which in turn causes many smokers to become discouraged from quitting. However, instead of helping people relax, smoking increases anxiety and tension . The feeling of reduced stress or relaxation is temporary and is soon replaced by withdrawal symptoms and cravings, ”explains study co-author Mike Knapton.
And it is that tobacco does not reduce the underlying causes of stress . In light of these results, quitting smoking would not only help us take care of our health and ensure a longer and healthier life, but it can be a very useful tool to combat anxiety, depression and improve mental health, since The study also found that former smokers who had quit for more than a year had similar anxiety and depression profiles to participants who had never smoked .
