Report Links Smoking and High Stress Levels

Concerns about the economy may cause smokers to light up more , but research suggests that smoking causes more stress, not less, the Canwest News Service reported April 15.

A Pew Research poll of 2,250 adults revealed that 50 percent of all smokers claim to experience frequent stress in their lives, compared with 35 percent of ex-smokers and 31 percent of non-smokers. 

In addition, 25 percent of smokers who said they were worried about the worsening economy also said they were smoking more.

Experts say the findings illustrate the “mythic relaxation response” associated with smoking.

“Many smokers perceive smoking as a way to calm stress, when, in fact, what they're doing is satisfying nicotine cravings and withdrawal,” said Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society. “In many respects, smoking — or the delay in having a cigarette — is the cause of stress.”

Data from the report was drawn from a U.S. poll conducted in mid-2008, when economic anxiety had not yet peaked. “(Smokers) tend to be lower on the classic socioeconomic scales, and some of that correlates with stress,” said Paul Taylor, director of Pew Social and Demographic Trends. “But we did a regression analysis that tried to hold those factors constant, and we still found an independent relationship between smoking and reports of being stressed.”