Smoking may actually cause stress finds research

Stop smoking hypnotherapy could have more health benefits than previously thought, as new research indicates that quitting smoking helps people in overcoming anxiety and stress.

It may be commonly held by smokers that cigarettes help calm unsteady nerves but a British study has found that stress levels actually go down after a person kicks the habit. Researchers from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry found in a study of 469 smokers attempting to quit that those who stayed off cigarettes for a year reported a reduction in their overall stress levels.

Published in the journal Addiction, the study's authors said that their findings supported the theory that smoking can actually contribute to chronic stress among some people.

"Smokers often see cigarettes as a tool to manage stress," said researcher Peter Hajek, "and ex-smokers sometimes return to smoking in the belief that this will help them cope with a stressful life event."

This was reflected in the initial responses to the study. At the start, 85% of the 469 smokers said that they though smoking helped them deal with stress. One year later though 41% had not returned to smoking and reported a 20% average reduction in their stress levels, though the patients who had gone back to smoking showed little change in their percieved stress.

"When dependent smokers cannot smoke, as the period lengthens they tend to feel more and more edgy, irritable and uncomfortable," says Hajek. "A cigarette relieves this stressful state, and this is probably the main reason smokers think that smoking relieves stress."