Anxiety & Smoking and Vaping

If you or someone you know needs support now, text TRUTH to 741741 to chat with a trained crisis counselor who can help at any time of day or night.

Studies show that people with anxiety smoke and vape nicotine at much higher rates than people without anxiety.

One reason for this is that the tobacco industry has spent a lot of money promoting the idea that their products can help people manage stress and feel happy. Some harmful industry tactics have included giving away free cigarettes to psychiatric facilities and creating misleading marketing about smoking, vaping and mental health.

The truth is that nicotine addiction can increase anxiety symptoms and stress levels. And it can worsen mental health in the long run. Quitting smoking and vaping can improve your mental health.

The good news is you can quit, even if you have anxiety. There are some things to be aware of and strategies that can make quitting easier.

How can quitting smoking and vaping help me if I have anxiety?

Quitting smoking and vaping can benefit you in several important ways. These benefits include:

• Quitting can make you feel less anxious, depressed, or stressed
• Quitting improves your mood and sense of wellbeing

Research shows that quitting smoking is linked with lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress. Truth Initiative surveys found that 90% of young people who quit vaping felt less stressed, anxious, or depressed.

One study found that people who quit smoking maintain lower stress levels up to six years after quitting.

Try these 4 tips to make quitting easier if you have anxiety.

How can smoking and vaping make anxiety symptoms worse?

The more you smoke or vape, the more nicotine receptors are created in your brain. The more nicotine receptors you have, the stronger your withdrawal symptoms may be when the nicotine starts to leave your system.

Withdrawal happens every time the nicotine wears off. It generally takes about two hours for most people with nicotine addiction to feel withdrawal symptoms. Going through many cycles of nicotine withdrawal every day can make anxiety symptoms worse, cause mood swings, and lead to worse moods.

In general, people who smoke or vape nicotine report higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and irritability. They also report lower quality of life than people who do not use nicotine.

Does nicotine withdrawal cause anxiety?

Nicotine withdrawal can make anxiety symptoms worse. In addition, nicotine withdrawal symptoms can feel like anxiety attacks.

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms can include:

• Feeling anxious or depressed
• Cravings
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Increased heart rate
• Feeling irritated or upset
• Feeling jumpy and restless
• Having a hard time focusing
• Changes in sleep and eating habits

People who have anxiety and who use nicotine products may feel stronger withdrawal symptoms.

What is the connection between nicotine dependence, nicotine withdrawal, and anxiety?

In the short term, smoking or vaping nicotine may feel good. Smoking and vaping triggers the release of dopamine, the “feel good” chemical in the brain. Dopamine creates feelings of pleasure and relaxation. And smoking and vaping might provide a short-term distraction from stressful situations.

Because of the way nicotine works in the body, those feel-good chemicals only last for a short time. Then nicotine withdrawal sets in.

When you use nicotine, your withdrawal symptoms go away and you feel better. Because of this, many people who smoke or vape feel that nicotine relaxes them, or helps with their anxiety.

Over time, it can take more and more nicotine to create that same good feeling and deal with symptoms of withdrawal. This is called tolerance.

In the long term, the pleasurable experience of smoking or vaping may turn into using nicotine just to get rid of withdrawal symptoms.

Because withdrawal often feels like anxiety, it can feel like smoking and vaping improves symptoms. In reality, nicotine does not help with the anxiety itself. Nicotine makes the nicotine receptors in your brain quiet down until the nicotine wears off again. Then the cycle continues.

The cycle of nicotine withdrawal (feel awful), nicotine use (feel better), and more withdrawal (feel awful again) can affect your mood and sense of wellbeing.

Can smoking trigger panic attacks?

Smoking has been shown to increase the risk of developing panic attacks and panic disorder. This is especially true for teens. Research suggests that smoking may increase the risk of panic attacks. There are several possible reasons for this.

• Nicotine can make your heart beat faster and raise your blood pressure. This can feel like a panic attack. Some people’s brains might think these changes mean something is wrong, which can trigger a real panic attack.
• Over time, smoking harms your lung function. For some people, having trouble breathing can feel like suffocation. That can trigger panic attacks.

The good news is quitting smoking can lower the risk of panic attacks and panic disorder.

What is the effect of smoking and vaping on anti-anxiety medications?

Many people with anxiety use mental health medications as part of treatment. Tobacco can make some of these medications less effective. Tobacco comes in cigarettes, cigars, or other products that contain tobacco leaves.

When you smoke, your body processes and gets rid of some medications faster. This means there is less medication in your body. People who smoke often need higher doses of mental health medications than people who don’t smoke.

When you quit smoking, your body might process some medications differently. Be sure to tell your doctor that you want to quit and want help. This is especially important if you are taking medication for anxiety, depression, or psychosis.

Nicotine replacement therapy does not change how the body processes mental health medications.

Next, learn 4 ways to make quitting easier if you have anxiety.