Loneliness Worsens The Habit of Smoking And Makes It Harder To Quit, Study Finds

Loneliness is not just a feeling but a silent poison that slowly kills a person from inside. A lone person not only develops bad habits but also suffer from emotional or psychological trauma that may be difficult for others to see. This gets worse with smokers. To quit smoking, a person needs support or a backing shoulder to help get through this. When someone is alone with no source of motivation, it becomes harder to reduce daily cigarette count let alone quitting. A study done by the University of Bristol has discovered this in relation to the recent lockdown and isolation condition. Besides, thousands of people have taken up smoking in this period out of lonesome feeling.

The relation between loneliness and smoking

Why do people smoke or when do people smoke? The answer to both questions is to curb the anxiety or sadness or confusion. In some cases, cigarettes have become an inseparable part of their lives where they smoke out of habit. Many people who suddenly got stranded or stuck alone somewhere due to the lockdown situation took up smoking to kill their loneliness. Also, people smoked more during this period as compared to what they were doing before the pandemic situation.

A study done in 2018 proved that social isolation and loneliness ups the risk of early death by 50%, brain stroke by 39% and heart attack by 40%. Sadly, this is true.

Also Read: E-Cigarettes Are Equally Detrimental As Tobacco Cigarettes

The number of smokers has seen a sudden rise in the past three months. Smoking provides comfort by relaxing the nerves and helps a person get over the feeling.

Dr. Robyn Wootton from Bristol Medical School who was part of this study said: “We found evidence to suggest that loneliness leads to increased smoking, with people more likely to start smoking, to smoke more cigarettes, and to be less likely to quit. We were really interested to find that loneliness decreases the likelihood of stopping smoking and we think this is a really important consideration for those trying to stop smoking during the pandemic.”

Also Read: Tips For Youth To Avoid Smoking And Nicotine Addiction

Smoking and Life Risk

We all know how precarious is smoking for life. It is the main cause of preventable deaths around the world such as lung cancer, mouth cancer, heart issues, etc. Smoking is also a risk factor or declining mental health and developing psychological disorders. Nicotine in the cigarette alters neurotransmitter functions which are not good for the brain. This might cease the depressing feeling for a time being but in the long run, it is pushing your mental health towards decline.

Deborah Arnott who is chief executive of the UK public health charity Action of Smoking & Health (ASH) said: “If lonely people are more likely to start smoking and find it harder to quit, they are more likely to suffer the harm caused by smoking.”

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