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from the bender-might-be-less-cranky-if-he-ditched-cigars dept.
lhsi writes "A recent publication on the British Medical Journal finds that stopping smoking improves mental health: "Change in mental health after smoking cessation: systematic review and meta-analysis" (CC BY-NC 3.0).
A lot of smokers claim that smoking has mental health benefits; reducing depression and anxiety, and for relaxation and relieving stress. However the study suggests this is likely mis-attributing the ability of cigarettes to abolish nicotine withdrawal as a beneficial effect on mental health. The study notes that some health professionals are reluctant to recommend stopping smoking as a way to help mental health problems due to the fear that it might make things worse, but this study suggests that it actually would help.
The main conclusion of the study:
Smoking cessation is associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress and improved positive mood and quality of life compared with continuing to smoke. The effect size seems as large for those with psychiatric disorders as those without. The effect sizes are equal or larger than those of antidepressant treatment for mood and anxiety disorders."
(Score: 1) by EvilJim on Wednesday February 26 2014, @12:04AM
I've gone to e-cig as well, wasn't a pack a day smoker but maybe 40 cigs a week, using the ecig for a while, it wasn't so much of a routine, not having to smoke it down meant I would just take a couple of hits then head back to work, started feeling like a waste of time and a hassle to go do it, hadn't touched it in three weeks until I went drinking this last weekend, haven't touched it again since Sunday. I reckon its a good alternative even if you never fully kick the nicotine addiction, the lack of carcinogens has the be less harmful.