If nicotine reduces stress, then smokers should be less stressed than nonsmokers, and smokers should experience increased stress when they quit. However, surveys indicate that smokers are more stressed than nonsmokers, and studies show that individuals report feeling less stress after quitting smoking. It is possible that smoking exacerbates stress via negative moods experienced during acute nicotine deprivation between cigarettes. Nicotine deprivation increases stress and negative mood states, and smoking or nicotine can reverse these changes. Nicotine withdrawal is characterized by feelings of stress, anger, and irritability.
Smoking can rapidly reverse such negative moods.
Nicotine addiction is maintained by reversal of deprivation-induced stress and negative mood observed between cigarettes or during more prolonged periods of abstinence. There is no clear evidence that smokers experience true stress reduction compared with nonsmokers. Currently, the most compelling explanation is that smoking modulates perceived stress and negative mood states through reversal of withdrawal effects, rather than genuine reductions in stress. However, there may be conditions under which smoking enhances mood and reduces stress in the absence of nicotine deprivation. The mechanisms by which stress functions to maintain addictive smoking behavior are not well understood.