Summary
Nicotine consumption, by smoking tobacco, vaping nicotine, or chewing tobacco, is prevalent in the USA and in the world. Persons with mental health conditions are more likely to use nicotine based products than the general population. Smoking contributes to mental health and medical conditions. Tools exist to stop smoking. Your health care team can assist you on your quest to stop smoking. Smoking cessation can help you achieve mental wellbeing.
Nicotine consumption, often in the form of smoking, is a habit for many people in the world. Smoking and mental health are linked in a bidirectional relationship. Optimizing mental health can benefit from the cessation of smoking to lead to mental wellbeing.
Why This Matters
According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), in the USA in 2021, 22.2% of persons over the age of 12 years old reported using nicotine (vaping nicotine or using tobacco products) in the previous 30 days; 15.6% reported smoking cigarettes in the previous 30 days; and 4.7% reported vaping nicotine in the previous 30 days.
Per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in the USA in 2020, 23.1% of adults with mental health issues acknowledged smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days versus 14.5% of the adult population with no mental health issues.
The American Lung Association reports that 35% of persons who smoke cigarettes have a mental health condition. The lifetime rates of smoking for persons with mental health conditions are estimated as follows: 59% in depression; 83% in bipolar disorder; 90% in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. People diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are 22% more likely to smoke cigarettes than those not diagnosed with PTSD. Alcohol use disorders and other substance use disorders are associated with high rates of smoking tobacco, estimated from 34% to 98% depending on the substance use disorder.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.3 billion people worldwide use tobacco products.
Nicotine is a substance which can cause dependence. Nicotine and additives in cigarettes and e-cigarettes are associated with health conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); lung cancer; pancreatic cancer; head and neck cancers; cardiovascular disease; dementia; ADHD; and a host of other health conditions which can and do lead to death.
The Purpose of Smoking in Persons with Mental Health Conditions
Persons with mental health conditions consume tobacco and other nicotine products at very high rates. Nicotine use is accompanied by medical consequences.
Does nicotine serve a purpose for the person who experiences mental health symptoms?
In her editorial entitled Smoking, psychiatric illness and the brain, published in the May 2017 issue of Journal of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Patricia Boska cogently summarizes potential effects of nicotine, including the short-term use of nicotine to improve learning, memory, and attention. Sometimes people with mental health conditions smoke to cope with side effects of their medication regimen or even to cope with symptoms of their illness.
Despite the fact people report smoking as an anxiety reducing activity, the structural and neurocircuitry and inflammatory changes caused by using nicotine and tobacco are not beneficial.
Interventions for Smoking to Foster Mental Wellbeing
There are many resources available to decrease the adverse effects of smoking and to promote smoking cessation.
Speak with your medical providers and mental health providers. Consult your pharmacist. Contact one of the following:
- New York State Smokers’ Quitline 1-866-NYQUITS (1-866-697-8487)
- Quitting While Pregnant (https://women.smokefree.gov/pregnancy-motherhood/quitting-while-pregnant)
- Quit Vaping (https://teen.smokefree.gov/quit-vaping)
- 1-800-QUIT-NOW
- 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (ESPAÑOL)
Access Your Superpower
Everyone has a superpower. A superpower which is common to all of us is our brain power. If you want specifics about brain regions involved, consider listening to a podcast or two or three by or with Dr. Andrew Huberman of the Huberman Lab.
When faced with anxiety, like the anxiety of wanting to and fearing smoking cessation and the side effects of stopping smoking, we can step back and observe. Easier said than done, I agree. By practicing this stance, it will become familiar and we will be inclined to adopt this approach. Refer to my post on mindfulness to practice a technique which will assist you in cultivating the observer approach.
Step back. Take a deep breath. Resist picking up a cigarette to “calm down”. Seek out the evidence for your fear and your beliefs in the situation.
Let your Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex communicate with your body via your vagus nerve. Notice your heart rate decrease. You will be able to pick up the telephone to call or text one of the resources mentioned above.
Start your journey towards stopping smoking, stopping vaping, stopping chewing tobacco. And, you will have engaged the dopaminergic system by setting a goal, initiating the first step towards a goal, and reinforcing you to repeat these steps because you will have accumulated a positive.
Takeaways for Mental Wellbeing
Smoking contributes to mental health and medical conditions. Tools exist to stop smoking. Your health care team can assist you on your quest to stop smoking. Smoking cessation can help you achieve mental wellbeing.
Additional Resources:
National Suicide Prevention Line 9-8-8
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