Cigarette smoking may cause depression

Smoking cigarettes may increase depression in teenagers, a new study suggests.

While cigarette smoking is said to produce happier moods, researchers determined long term effects to be more depressive than happy.

A group of 662 teens in high school completed a survey of questions based on tobacco usage and how they felt based on their usage. The students social and economic statuses varied greatly, ranging from inner-city students to rural, and students attending schools ranging from low to high economic neighborhoods.

Experts created three groups of teens for the study. Group one consisted of non-smokers, group two involved teens who did not smoke as a way to improve their mood, and group three contained students who were attempting to improve mood when smoking. Each group was asked how their mood changed when smoking.

Researchers discovered those who smoked to improve their mood noticed an increased risk for depression when compared to teens who do not smoke. The study found teenage smokers reporting mood benefits caused by smoking, notice greater risks for depression. However, depression statistics were higher with students reporting smoking made them feel better, after they started smoking.