Quit smoking for better mental health?

Today is ‘No Smoking Day’

No Smoking Day is an annual event aimed at encouraging people to quit smoking. The past year has highlighted the importance of looking after both our physical and mental health and while the physical health benefits of giving up smoking have long been established, there is now evidence that stopping smoking can have long-term benefits on your mental health too, so will you be thinking ‘today is the day’ to go smoke-free?

You may be thinking that they stress and anxiety you’ve experienced during the pandemic will be a good reason to give yourself a break and skip trying to quit this year. But research suggests that while quitting can feel stressful in the short term, many ex-smokers report an improvement in their mental health six weeks after quitting.

A study published in the BMJ in 2014 found that stopping smoking is associated with improvements in mental health such as reduced depression and anxiety when compared to continuing smoking. An update of this research, due to be published very soon, with findings from over 160,000 people suggests that people who quit smoking are likely to have improved mental wellbeing, in particular reduced depression and anxiety and an improved mood and quality of life.