Does nicotine cause mental health issues?: Difference between revisions

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*Citation: Cameron English, American Council on Science and Health
*Citation: Cameron English, American Council on Science and Health
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==Never say "Never"==
===A Note from the Safer Nicotine Wiki team===
We've provided examples of studies showing that nicotine doesn't cause depression. We've also linked to studies showing that people living with depression smoke at a higher rate than people who aren't dealing with depression.
'''<big>[[Did we prove that nicotine doesn't cause depression? NO! There are studies showing that it is possible that nicotine might lead to depression. We shouldn't dismiss this.]]</big>'''
How can evidence show both? Let's throw out the possibilities of bias and poorly conducted studies for either theory, and what we have left is thousands of individuals who have participated in studies. What do those individuals have in common? They are each unique in their own way.
Why doesn't everyone who goes to a baseball game end up loving baseball? How can some people drink alcohol and not become addicted to it? Why do some people like Brussels Sprouts while other people hate them? Because we are all different! It is logical that the relationship between depression and nicotine can have different outcomes for different people. It's also worth noting that some people who use nicotine don't deal with any depression.
Depression greatly reduces someone's quality of life and can even lead to death. If we suspect that someone (or ourselves) is living with depression, that should be taken seriously.
The most important thing here is that if you live with depression, please don't struggle alone. Reach out to family and friends. Connect with other people dealing with depression on social media or in local face-to-face groups. Talk to your healthcare provider. Find things that help you, and practice self-care and self-love. You are not alone, so please don't go on this journey alone.
There are wonderful organizations that can help you learn about depression and how to manage your depression. There are also good resources for those of you who love someone living with depression.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Many of us dealing with depression are left feeling inadequate, like we are not good enough, we don't do enough, and we are failures. Sometimes it feels like the joy of living is sucked right out of us. We're pleased to see that the 2023 theme for Mental Health Awareness Month is [https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month #MoreThanEnough]. Reminding all of us that we have value just the way we are.
===2009: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2758872/ A systematic review of longitudinal studies on the association between depression and smoking in adolescents]===
*...smoking leads to depression while in others, depression leads to smoking--a hypothesis that is consistent with the results of the present study."
*Citation: Chaiton MO, Cohen JE, O'Loughlin J, Rehm J. A systematic review of longitudinal studies on the association between depression and smoking in adolescents. BMC Public Health. 2009 Sep 22;9:356. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-356. PMID: 19772635; PMCID: PMC2758872.
A search of Google Scholar or other resources will provide you with evidence saying the same thing as the study above.