THE FACTS

The benefits of quitting smoking  reduced risk of cancer and many other health problems  are known. But for millions of smokers, the calming effect of a cigarette can be reason enough to start up again.

Studies have found, however, that in reality, lighting up has the opposite effect, causing long-term stress levels to rise, not fall. For those dependent on smoking, the only stress it relieves is the withdrawal between cigarettes.

In a recent study conducted at the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, researchers looked at 469 people who tried to quit after being hospitalized for heart disease. At the start, the subjects had similar levels of stress and generally believed that smoking helped them to cope.

Image Credit... Christoph Niemann

A year later, 41 percent had managed to stay abstinent. After controlling for several factors, the scientists found that the abstainers had “a significantly larger decrease in perceived stress,” roughly a 20 percent drop, compared with the continuing smokers, who showed little change.