In this article, we will discuss what happens when you quit smoking? About
Do you smoke cigarettes?
There are probably a certain number of people who feel that smoking is a problem, but find it difficult to quit.
I've heard that if you stop smoking, you'll have other stresses...but what about it? I would like to introduce a study that investigates this question.
The study
This is a review of 102 studies involving more than 169,500 people.
In some of the studies, the number of people who participated was not clearly reported.The studies used a variety of rating scales to measure people's mental health symptoms.
Most studies included people in general, and 23 studies (53 studies) included people with mental disorders.
Other studies included people who had recently undergone surgery or become pregnant, had a physical or mental health condition, or had a long-term physical condition.
Results from 63 studies that measured changes in mental health symptoms were combined and compared with results from 10 studies that measured the number of people who developed a mental health disorder during the study.
The results showed that compared to those who continued to smoke, those who were able to quit showed significant reductions in the following areas
Anxiety (evidence from 3141 people in 15 studies)
Depression (7156 people in 34 studies)
Anxiety and depression (2829 people in 8 studies)
Confidence in results was very low (for depression), low (for anxiety), and moderate (for a mix of anxiety and depression).
Confidence declined as we found limitations in the way the studies were designed and conducted.
Compared to those who continued to smoke, those who were able to quit showed greater improvement in the following areas
Stress symptoms (evidence from four studies of 1792 people)
Positive feelings (13 studies with 4,880 participants)
Mental health (19 studies in 18,034 people)
There was also evidence that those who were able to quit smoking did not have a decrease in social well-being and may have had a slight increase. (9 studies with 14,673 people)
There were fewer new cases of mixed anxiety and depression in those who were able to quit smoking than in those who continued to smoke. (Evidence from three studies with 8,685 people)
Reviewer's conclusion
In summary, these data provide evidence that mental health does not worsen as a result of smoking cessation, and evidence of very low to moderate certainty that smoking cessation is associated with small to moderate improvements in mental health. These improvements are seen both in unselected samples and in subpopulations that include people diagnosed with mental health conditions. Additional studies that use more sophisticated methods to overcome time-variant confounding would strengthen the evidence in this area.
Taylor GMJ, Lindson N, Farley A, Leinberger-Jabari A, Sawyer K, te Water Naudé R, Theodoulou A, King N, Burke C, Aveyard P. Smoking cessation for improving Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD013522. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2.
Conclusion
Achieving smoking cessation did not worsen mental health or other health problems, but rather may tend to improve them.
Since there are no negative mental health effects, only withdrawal symptoms due to the lack of nicotine and other ingredients from smoking, people who are trying to quit smoking may be denying themselves mentally.
If you are trying to quit smoking without self-denial, you may be able to achieve this goal.