Smoking Cigarettes May Increase Depression Risk: Study; Quit Smoking Today, Here Are Some Tips Which Might Help

Smoking kills! The adverse effects of smoking are quite popular. These harmful effects are so powerful that you must quit smoking today itself. Smoking majorly affects lung health and can even cause cancer. But the health hazards of smoking are not limited to lungs. It slowly kills you every time you smoke. It starts affecting other organs as well with time. If you are a smoker then you must know that smoking can put in depression as well as per a recent study. Researchers have found that tobacco smoking may increase your risk of developing depression and schizophrenia.

Smoking and depression: What is the link?

"Individuals with mental illness are often overlooked in our efforts to reduce smoking prevalence, leading to health inequalities," said study lead author Robyn Wootton from the University of Bristol.

"Our work shows that we should be making every effort to prevent smoking initiation and encourage smoking cessation because of the consequences to mental health as well as physical health," Wootton added.

For the study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, the research team used UK Biobank data from 462,690 individuals of European ancestry, comprising 8 per cent current smokers and 22 per cent former smokers. The team applied an analytic approach called Mendelian randomisation, which uses genetic variants associated with an exposure (e.g. smoking) to support stronger conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships.

Also read: Beware! Smoking More Than 20 Cigarettes A Day Could Damage Your Vision

"The increasing availability of genetic data in large studies, together with the identification of genetic variants associated with a range of behaviours and health outcomes, is transforming our ability to use techniques such as Mendelian randomisation to understand causal pathways," said study senior author Marcus Munafo.

"What this shows is that genetic studies can tell us as much about environmental influences - in this case the effects of smoking on mental health - as about underlying biology," Munafo added.

The research also suggests that smoking can have adverse effects on mental health. This new evidence adds further weight to support the implementation of smoke-free policies. Not only is there evidence that smoking can be detrimental to mental health, but much of the excess mortality associated with depression is due to smoking, the study added.

Also read: E-Cigarettes Banned: Know Why They Are No Better Than Regular Cigarettes

The urgent need of an action plan: How to quit smoking?

Till not you might have understood how harmful smoking is. It can also affect your mental health as well. You need to urgently implement an action plan to quit smoking. It is a tough job to quit smoking. You cannot suddenly quit. You need to implement the right efforts and give yourself enough time to adapt the change. Here are some tips which can help you reduce smoking craving.

1. Prepare an action plan and stick to it

2. Take a help you friend who can distract your attention whenever you feel like smoking

3. Make a call everytime you crave smoking

4. Keep your mouth busy to avoid another excuse to smoke

5. Give yourself a reward after some progress

6. Take medical help if you are not able to finally quit

Also read: Now That You've Made A Resolution To Quit Smoking, Here's How You Can Deal With It

(With inputs from IANS)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.