Smoking is a filthy habit that can ruin lives. It is well known that regular smoking not only affects your day-to-day life and appearance, but it can also cause severe heart, lung, and brain disorders, and is one of the biggest causes of lung and throat cancer. Despite widespread awareness about these life-threatening risks, warning messages, and horrific images of corroded faces and lungs on most cigarette boxes, cigarette smoking is rampant around the world.
An interesting study offers some insight into this phenomenon. As per a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, smoking can cause mental illnesses and is also a symptom of poor mental health.
Study Findings
The study assessed a number of people with mental health conditions and looked at how many of those had a regular habit of smoking cigarettes. The researchers found that 39.5% of people with mental health conditions were smokers. Based on their findings, they concluded that people with mental health conditions were 2.4 times more likely to smoke than those without mental health conditions.
The study stated that its results are consistent with other studies that also found higher smoking rates among people with mental health conditions. For example, one study that they cited, found a similar smoking rate of 39% among people with mental illness, and these individuals were 3.2 times more likely to smoke than those without a mental illness diagnosis. It was also observed that people with mental health conditions were 25% less likely to quit smoking, possibly because they were less motivated to do so.
Also Read: Study Reveals Teenage Smoking Can Lead To Genetic Damage And Can Impact Future Kids
How To Quit Smoking?
The researchers informed that around 52% of smokers in the study had tried to quit smoking at least once in the past year. Reasons for wanting to quit included health concerns, the cost of smoking, and concerns about exposing others to secondhand smoke.
Unfortunately, currently, only 56.7% of current smokers expressed a readiness to quit smoking. This means that many smokers with mental health conditions were not actively trying to stop smoking, and in fact, had accepted this habit as just another part of their daily routine.
However, one factor that expressed some acknowledgement of the need to give up cigarettes, was the alternative use of E-cigarettes. Out of the total number of participants, past smokers (those who used to smoke) were found to be more likely to use E-cigarettes compared to current smokers. Unfortunately, the study proved that using E-cigarettes did not significantly help past smokers quit.
Also Read: Tobacco Smoking: Do E-Cigarettes Double The Risk Of A Heart Attack?
The study also suggested that those who were more addicted to nicotine had a harder time quitting.
Smoking As A Coping Mechanism
It is a well-known fact that some people turn to smoking as a way to cope with stress. The study suggested that people with depressive symptoms might use smoking as a way to cope with their symptoms, making it harder for them to quit.
While it is often suggested that smoking can start as a way to cope with mental health symptoms, this study found that, for most participants, smoking actually started before they were diagnosed with a mental health condition.
To summarise, the study hypothesised that people with mental health conditions had a higher prevalence of smoking and nicotine dependence, and they were less ready to quit smoking. However, their result raised the age-old question of 'what came first, the chicken or the egg?' Does poor mental health and mental illness compel a person to start smoking, or whether a pesky habit of smoking cigarettes daily is the actual culprit that births mental disorders in a person? Either way, the study suggested that efforts should be made by health authorities to help the masses to quit smoking, by increasing awareness of available programmes and addressing the specific needs of individuals with mental health conditions who want to quit smoking.