The Relationship Between Smoking and Mental Health

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In people with skitzophrenia, smoking rates ar around forty four %. In people with depression and anxiety, it's around 30%. So we're doing a really good job at helping people without mento halt problems quit smoking. But what we're doing is helping people with ent oums for soking. That's quite a significant difference. And i really understand why you would look for any kind of stress relief that might be around you.

According to some estimates smoking causes one in 10 deaths worldwide. A lesser known side-effect of cigarettes is the damage they cause to our mental health. Yet, the rates of smoking among people with mental health conditions are much higher than the rest of the population. Last week, the UK government published the Khan review, an independent report looking at how England could become smoke free by 2030. One of the recommendations was to tackle the issue of mental health and smoking. Madeleine Finlay speaks to epidemiologist Dr Gemma Taylor about how significant this link is, what we can do to break it, and how to dispel the myth that smoking is a stress reliever. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod