Psychological Damage Possible for Passive Smokers

Secondhand smoker is nothing enviable to be, with a number of health risks to run. The one of developing mental problems is not the least of those. There were studies that revealed the adverse effects of nicotine on mood – it interferes with immune responses, stress-hormone regulation and dopamine transmission, making smokers an easy prey to various psychological problems.

Archives of General Psychiatry published an article that shows that psychological issues tend to affect both smokers and non-smokers who are often exposed to nicotine fumes in a nearly equal measure.

Non-smokers that find themselves constantly exposed to secondhand smoke were found to be 62 per cent more likely to yield to psychological pressure in comparison with those who keep away from nicotine smoke.

The study further says that the chances of those individuals ending up in psychiatric hospitals for treatment of depression and substance abuse are greater by three times.

The risk of succumbing to psychological pressure grows higher with the growing amount of secondhand smoke inhaled, with the risk at its highest for smokers.

Those who never smoked are more prone to be affected by the negative effects of nicotine on their mental state than ex-smokers who are less vulnerable to its influence.

Source of the image: Photl.com.