Study Reveals Strong Link Between Depression and Smoking

Though research does not indicate that depression is a definite cause of smoking, or that cigarette smoking necessarily causes depression, recent findings have nonetheless identified an interesting correlation between cigarette smoking and depression.

Results from a 2005-2008 nationwide survey of adults by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) concluded that not only are people more likely to smoke when depressed, but smoking behavior increases as depression deepens. In fact, study results indicate that depressed people are more likely than non-depressed people to start up the habit in the first place, and depressed people are less likely to quit smoking than those who are not depressed. Within the CDC survey on National Health and Nutrition Examination, 7% of responders were determined to suffer from some degree of depression.

The CDC study identified interesting differences in the smoking habits of depressed men and women. According to the CDC, 48% of women and 40% of men diagnosed with severe depression are addicted to cigarettes. However, in the general population of non-depressed adults in the country, only 17% of women and 25% of men are smokers. It seems that depression and smoking behavior in women, in particular, are strongly linked.

Research indicates that depressed people smoke more overall. The CDC study findings reveal that nearly twice as many depressed smokers (28%) as non-depressed smokers (15%) average more than one pack of cigarettes per day (cigarette packs contain an average of 20 cigarettes).

Depressed smokers are also more likely to light up earlier in the day than non-depressed smokers. More than half of depressed smokers in the study reported the tendency to light their first cigarette of the day within five minutes of waking, while only 30% of non-depressed smokers reported doing so.

Though the evidence is clear that people suffering from depression are more likely to smoke than non-depressed individuals, and they are more likely to smoke substantially more and start earlier in the day, all hope for quitting smoking when depressed is not lost. A number of small studies have reported that people with depression can successfully conquer cigarette addiction if enrolled in intensive cessation programs.