Smokers May Be At A Greater Risk Of Mental Illness, Study Claims

If you failed to heed the warning of your doctors about the dangers of smoking, then perhaps, this new study might convince you. A group of scientists has found that smoking increases the risk of a person to suffer from mental illness. This would include mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.

Affecting Mental Health

The study, published in Psychological Medicine journal, was conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol in the UK. Their study supported the increasing evidence that smoking harms both the body and also the brain. According to Robyn Wootton, the lead author of the said study, efforts should be made to prevent smoking. There should be enough encouragement to cease smoking, not just because of the harmful effects it has on physical health but also on mental health.

It held that there are two relationships between smokers and mental illness. One aspect is that patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia have higher tendencies to pick up the habit of smoking. The other aspect is the reverse thereof. Smokers are at a higher risk of developing a range of mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia.

The Opposing View

There are other researchers who did not agree with the Bristol findings. Those who did not join the study stated that it is unlikely for cigarette smoking or tobacco to cause such changes in the brain. Although this could further strengthen previous findings that moms who smoke when they were still pregnant put their child at a higher risk for developing schizophrenia.

This would eventually “pass on an increased genetic risk of smoking” to their children. As per David Curtis, one of the physicians who opposed the study, this is what is being picked up on by the study at the University of Bristol.

Other Effects of Smoking

Aside from the health and mental effects, it could also affect one’s appearance. Another recent study showed that smoking cigarettes could develop the “smoker’s face,” where one tends to age faster and would have telltale signs of smoking on the face. These signs would include freckles, wrinkles, and lines at the corners of the mouth.