The Link Between Smoking and Depression; Not What You Think

The May Issue of Psychological Medicine is reporting the results of a 15-year Finnish twins study that suggest that "persistent chronic smoking predicts the development of depressive symptoms." Smokers are used to hearing about the health concerns of smoking but many felt that the psychological boost that they received from nicotine was enough of a reason to not quit (at least right now). However, according to this study, even this rational may be flawed.

A Reuters Health article had this to say about the results:

Persistent smokers appear to be at increased risk for becoming depressed compared to never smokers, results of a long-term study of Finnish twins suggest. On the other hand, this association was not seen in individuals who stopped smoking many years ago.

According to lead author Dr. Tellervo Korhonen from the University of Helsinki:

"Although nicotine as such may have short-term positive effects on concentration and possibly on mood, long-term exposure to tobacco smoke may be one risk factor in development of depression."

In addition to depression, smoking has been associated with a variety of other health issues including dementia,sleep apnea, stroke, and to name a few.

National Cancer Institute study on the success rates of various approaches to quitting smoking.