Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stress-Smoking Rol
Stress-Smoking Rol
Depression
Cody Judge, Kaylee Loomis, Erin Silversmith
Dept. of Kinesiology, California State University, San Marcos, CA 92096
Abstract
Background: Smoking and stress are major
contributors to chronic disease and premature
death in America. Individuals with elevated stress
levels are more likely to smoke, and smokers have
higher perceived stress levels during periods of
smoking
cessation,
revealing
a
complex
relationship between these two factors. Purpose:
The purpose of this review is to examine the
association between stress, smoking, anxiety and
depression. Methodology: Literature searches
were conducted using three databases and
keywords: stress, nicotine, addiction, tobacco,
smoking, and anxiety. Results: Regular smokers
report that they smoke to relieve stress, however,
research reveals that it is more likely that they
smoke to relieve the symptoms of nicotine
withdrawal. Individuals with preexisting anxiety,
depression, or PTSD are more likely to smoke and
to relapse after a period of smoking cessation.
Conclusion: Stress relief may serve as motivation
to initiate smoking, but relieving withdrawal
symptoms is arguably the reason individuals
continue to smoke.
Introduction
Word Count: 150
Tobacco use is the single most preventable
cause of death in the United States (Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
According to a national survey, people with a
diagnosed psychiatric disorder are twice as likely
to smoke as those without a psychiatric disorder
(National Institutes of Health, 2009).
The psychiatric disorders that this review of
literature discusses are anxiety, depression, and
post traumatic stress (PTSD).
Anxiety Disorder- an excessive amount of fear
or worry about a situation, event, or
circumstance (NIH 2009).
Depression- a mood disorder that is
characterized by feelings of sadness or
hopelessness. Depression can range from mild
to extreme cases (NIH 2009).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- a mental
health disorder that is triggered by a stressful or
traumatic event. People are diagnosed with
PTSD if symptoms of elevated anxiety,
insomnia, or heightened perceived stress levels
last for months or years after the event (NIH,
2009).
Methods
Literature searches were conducted using
psychINFO, PubMed and Google Scholar.
Keywords: stress, nicotine, addiction, smoking,
tobacco, anxiety, and withdrawal.
Inclusion Criteria consisted of studies with human
subjects and peer-reviewed research.
Studies were excluded if they had animal subjects,
or if they were published before the year 1982.
14 total studies including both empirical research
and reviews of literature were selected and
included in our review.
Statistical and background information was
retrieved from research articles published on the
Centers for the Disease Control (CDC) and the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) websites.
Results
References
1. Bruijnzeel, A. W. (2012). Tobacco addiction and the
dysregulation of brain stress systems. Neuroscience And
Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(5), 1418-1441. doi: 10.1016/j.
neu biorev.2012.02.015
2. Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). Current
Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States.
(2015, January 23). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http:
//www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/
adult_data/cig_smoking
3. Morissette, S., Gulliver, S., Kamholz, B., Tull, M., Zimering, R.
Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Tobacco Use, and Nicotine:
A Critical Review of Interrelationships. Psychological
Bulletin. 2007. 133(2), 245-272.
4. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Expert Panel Addresses
High Rates of Smoking in People with Psychiatric
Disorders. (2009, February 18). Retrieved April 27, 2015,
from http://www.nihm.nih.gov/news/science-news/2009/
expert-panel-addresses-high-rates-of-smoking-in-peoplewith-psychiatric-disorders.shtml
5. Silverstein, B., 1982. Cigarette Smoking, Nicotine Addiction,
and Relaxation. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology. Volume 42:5, 946-950.