The government should be disseminating accurate information that smoking doesn't reduce stress and anxiety through public health campaigns and staff training. Do people really not know that smoking is bad for you in this way? I mean, when you look at the stats, it looks if people with mental health conditions do buy anlarge already want to give up. This isn't a free will issue. People are addicted to tobacco against their will. They want to quit, and it's killing them. You don't have physical health without mental health. So there's no way t it that smoking can be selectively benefiting the mind while destroying the lungs, the heart, the circulatory system. That makes lutely no
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