Depression & Smoking and Vaping

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The tobacco industry has spent a lot of money promoting the idea that their products can help people feel happy and carefree. 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 depression 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 that if you have depression and want to quit, there are tools you can use. Here 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 depression?

Quitting smoking and vaping can benefit your mental health 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 people who quit smoking maintain lower stress levels for up to six years after quitting. And people getting treatment for depression or mood disorders benefit from quitting smoking, too. Those who quit smoking as part of their mental health treatment experience fewer depression symptoms.

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

Will quitting smoking or vaping make me feel more depressed?

Quitting does not make depression worse. In fact, quitting can improve symptoms of depression and make you feel better.

Research has found smokers feel lower levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, and better quality of life within 2 months of quitting.

Medications, like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges, can make withdrawal symptoms easier to manage. Using medications improves your chances of quitting for good.

How can smoking and vaping intensify feelings of depression?

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 depression symptoms worse, cause mood swings, and lead to worse moods.

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

Does nicotine withdrawal cause depression?

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms can include:

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

People with depression who smoke or vape may feel stronger withdrawal symptoms.

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

In the short term, smoking or vaping nicotine may feel good. Smoking and vaping triggers the release of the “feel good” chemical in the brain called dopamine. 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 depression.

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

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 depression, it can feel like smoking and vaping improves symptoms. In reality, nicotine does not help with the depression itself. It is simply making the nicotine receptors in your brain quiet down until the nicotine wears off again, and the cycle continues.

The constant cycle of nicotine withdrawal (feel awful), nicotine use (feel better), and more withdrawal (feel awful again) can affect your mood, your sense of well-being, and your outlook.

What is the effect of smoking and vaping on antidepressant medications?

Many people with depression 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 depression, anxiety, or psychosis.

Nicotine replacement therapy does not change how the body processes mental health medications. Nicotine replacement therapy includes nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges.

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