Not All Data on Smoking Is Depressing

That bad-mouthed substance people hate to love may actually make those prone to depression feel better. New York City researchers have found that many melancholics may smoke because of nicotine’s antidepressant effects.

“This does not mean that we recommend cigarette smoking,” says Dr. Alexander Glassman, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University. “The dangers of nicotine far outweigh the benefit.”

When Glassman and his colleagues examined data collected from more than 3,000 people for a national mental-health study, they found that those suffering from depression were twice as likely to be smokers--74% of the depressed group smoked, contrasted with 53% of those who had had no psychiatric illness. In another study, Centers for Disease Control researchers also found that 20% of smokers they studied scored high on depression tests, contrasted with 14% of nonsmokers.

People who were depressed also found it much harder to quit, according to both studies. The Columbia scientists found that people with a history of depression were half as likely to quit as other smokers.

The Columbia team has also found that people with a history of depression get the blues when they try to quit. The doctors have completed a pilot study of 15 depression-prone people who are trying to stop smoking, treating them with the antidepressant Prozac in conjunction with a 10-week counseling program. So far, 60% have quit without getting depressed.

Why is nicotine so potent an antidepressant? “Nicotine calms and stimulates at the same time,” says Glassman. “Its effects are immediate--the chemical enters the lungs and reaches the brain within seven seconds.”

Depression isn’t a normal part of withdrawal from smoking, say the Columbia researchers. “If you try to quit and experience lethargy, withdrawal, hopelessness or despair,” says Glassman, “seek medical help.”