Smoking and Mental Heath
What is the impact of smoking on mental health? Learn more about the benefits of quitting and how to get support to quit smoking.
As well as being a leading cause of heart disease, cancer and other health conditions, smoking can have a negative impact on your mental health and wellbeing.
Research shows that smoking increases anxiety and stress and that smokers are also at higher risk of depression. Furthermore, people with a mental health condition are much more likely to smoke than the general population, tend to smoke more heavily and are at higher risk of addiction.
On average, life expectancy for people living with mental health problems is 10 to 20 years less than the general population, with smoking a significant contributing factor.
Quitting smoking has immediate benefits for your mental health. According to one study, “Smoking cessation is associated with reduced depression, anxiety and stress, and improved positive mood and quality of life.” (BMJ)
If you want to give up smoking to improve your health and wellbeing, there is lots of support available. Stop Smoking London is a great place to start to find the information you need.
“In general, smoking makes your anxiety and stress levels worse rather than better… It’s really really worth persevering with quitting smoking.”
Dr Ed Beveridge, Presidential Lead for Physical Health, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Why is smoking used as a coping mechanism?
Because nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain, an important driver of the brains reward system, it might feel like smoking a cigarette helps to relieve the symptoms of anxiety, stress or depression. But smoking only provides a temporary feeling of calm – for around 25 minutes – before withdrawal symptoms and cravings set in and you want to reach for another cigarette.
This negative cycle of dependency can be very hard to break. On top of this, worries about the impact of smoking on your physical health or the financial cost of smoking could negatively affect your mental health.
The best way to move forward is to quit smoking and develop some healthier strategies for managing your emotions, such as exercising regularly and spending time with friends.
Cigarettes were an emotional crutch for Marisa
Find out how she quitHow does smoking affect mental health
Smoking has various psychological effects, including increasing anxiety and stress and putting you at higher risk of depression. If you’re experiencing any kind of mental health problem, smoking is not an effective way to manage your condition.
Anxiety can happen in many situations, such as meeting new people or when you’ve got an important event coming up.
When you feel anxious, you look for ways to relieve this feeling and this might include smoking a cigarette. But does smoking help with anxiety or does it cause anxiety?
Although you get an initial sense of relief from the nicotine, this soon fades away. You might then find yourself in a cycle of craving and withdrawal and start to feel even more anxious. If you stop smoking, you can lower your anxiety.
Learn more about smoking and anxiety and how to quit.
When you’re stressed about something, such as money, work or a relationship, you might think that smoking will help you to feel calmer.
It can actually make you feel worse as the dopamine released in the brain by the nicotine quickly falls.
Soon you’ll be craving another cigarette and you might even start feeling stressed about how smoking damages your health and how much it is costing you.
Quitting smoking can actually help to reduce stress.
Find out more about smoking and stress and how to quit.
Many Londoners experience low mood or depression – for example, when recovering from a difficult life event or going through hormonal changes.
Smoking might make you feel better temporarily but it won’t get to the root cause of why you’re feeling low and it might make you feel worse.
There is also evidence that smoking can cause disruption to the effectiveness of certain medication and antidepressants meaning you may need an increased dose.
When you stop smoking, you’ll soon see the positive impact it has on your mood.
Get advice and support on how to quit.
“Once you’ve quit and you’re feeling better and the withdrawals have eased, your stress and anxiety levels are actually much lower than when you were a smoker.”
Tracy Davies, Tobacco Dependence Advisor
What are the psychological benefits of quitting smoking?
When you stop smoking, you experience many positive effects on your mental health, including:
- Reduced anxiety, stress and depression levels
- Improved mood, self-esteem and quality of life
- If you are taking medication for a mental health condition, such as antidepressants, you might find that you can reduce the dosage when you quit smoking.
Changes to your medication should only be done in consultation with your doctor.
Stopping smoking is a journey, however, and you might find that you experience mood swings and that your mental health gets worse rather than better in the short term. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, anxiety and restlessness, might last 2-4 weeks.
It’s important that you get support from a stop smoking service to help you cope with this.
How to quit
When you quit smoking, it’s normal to experience withdrawal symptoms due to reduced levels of nicotine within the body. If you smoke and have a mental health condition, you might believe that it will be harder for you to quit smoking. However, with the right support, it’s possible.
You might need help from your local stop smoking service or benefit from nicotine replacement therapy, for example.
Stop Smoking London understands that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to quitting. You might need help from your local stop smoking service or benefit from nicotine replacement therapy, for example.
We provide a range of resources to help Londoners give up smoking, including:
How to manage your mental health
If you take antidepressants or other medication for your mental health, talk to your GP or psychiatrist before you give up smoking.
There is lots of support available to help you lower anxiety, reduce stress, boost mood and manage other mental health conditions.
Good Thinking, London’s digital mental wellbeing service, provides advice on dealing with common mental health conditions, free NHS-approved wellbeing apps and links to urgent support.
You might find the five ways to good mental wellbeing helpful if you’re struggling with your mental health.
