Tobacco and nicotine take a huge toll on people with behavioral /mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety and ADHD. These people are more likely to smoke — and smoke more heavily— than people who do not have mental health conditions. But quitting can have huge, lifelong benefits in a person’s mental and physical health.
Some people with mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression, turn to tobacco and nicotine products like cigarettes and vapes to cope with stress. While nicotine may provide short-term relief, it worsens these feelings in the long-term. Nicotine cravings come back quickly, creating more stress and anxiety, and making it harder to manage emotions. Tobacco/nicotine can also affect some medications, preventing us from getting the full, positive effects of treatment.1
Quitting nicotine helps reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. It also supports long-term sobriety by making it easier to quit other substances. The longer you stay free from nicotine, the healthier you become—both physically and mentally.
Teens and young adults are even more at risk. Four out of five teens who vape started because of mental health struggles.2 Vaping, like smoking, introduces harmful chemicals and nicotine that can permanently affect brain development, leading to more anxiety, impulsivity, and depression as they grow older.3
The tobacco industry has long targeted people with behavioral health conditions, using deceptive tactics to make us more reliant on tobacco.4 They’ve even funded research that falsely claimed cigarettes could help certain mental health conditions.5 The tobacco industry also fought smoke-free policies and made many people even more reliant on tobacco by donating cigarettes to psychiatric treatment facilities.6 The truth is, smoking worsens many health issues, including heart disease, lung disease, and cancer—conditions that are already more common in people with behavioral health conditions.
If you’re a person living with a mental health condition, you can break tobacco or nicotine’s control on your life. And you don’t have to do it alone. People who get help are much more likely to quit and stay quit than those who try to quit on their own.
That help could include quit medications and outside support from family, friends and the Colorado Quitline.
If you don’t have a health care provider and need help with a behavioral health condition, the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration can help you find treatment.
If you need someone to talk to, you can reach out to 988 Colorado Mental Health Line 24/7 for free.