mental health gateway page
the bottom line
Smoking and mental health problems are linked to each other in complicated ways. Smokers have higher rates of several mental health problems -- including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and drug abuse -- than nonsmokers do. Smoking may make some mental health problems worse, and it is associated with a type of risk-seeking attitude that contributes to serious life problems among young people.
It has been difficult, though, for researchers to figure out whether smoking is a cause or an effect of mental illnesses. Does smoking make it more likely that a person will develop a mental illness? Or does the mental illness make it more likely that a person will take up smoking? The answers to these questions have not been easy to find, and they may differ for different kinds of mental health problems.
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The American Council on Science and Health is a consumer eduction consortium with a board of 350 physicians, scientists, and policy advisors.
