The latest research has shown that quitting smoking not only helps ease depression, but also increases the level of happiness. Researchers at Brown University studied 236 men and women in total who were trying to quite smoking. They looked at physical as well as mental impact of kicking the habit on these people. The participants received nicotine patches and counseling on quitting and then agreed to a quit date. Participants took a standardized test of symptoms of depression a week before the quit date and then two, eight, 16, and 28 weeks after that date.
Results showed that when people quit smoking; it helps with their depression and also makes them far happier than when they were smoking. All but 29 participants exhibited one of four different quitting behaviors: 99 subjects never abstained; 44 were only abstinent at the two-week assessment; 33 managed to remain smoke-free at the two- and eight-week checkups; 33 managed to stay off cigarettes for the entire study length.
Authors led by Christopher Kahler research professor of community health at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University recommend that smokers embrace quitting as a step toward improving mental as well as physical health. Kahler said, “The assumption has often been that people might smoke because it has antidepressant properties and that if they quit it might unmask a depressive episode… What’s surprising is that at the time when you measure smokers’ mood, even if they’ve only succeeded for a little while, they are already reporting less symptoms of depression.”
The study has been published online Nov. 24 in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.
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