However, not a single study found former smokers to be more stressed than current smokers. Professor Parrott says there seem to be two possible answers. First, smokers may be more neurotic. A number of studies have found above-average neuroticism scores in adult smokers compared with nonsmokers, although some studies have failed to confirm this. The second answer is that stress may be caused by nicotine dependency.
Smokers also learn that regular smoking prevents abstinence symptoms from developing.
Thus, the link between regular smoke intake and keeping moods within normal bounds becomes strongly conditioned over time. Parrott says the message that tobacco use does not alleviate stress, but actually increases it, needs to be far more widely known. He says this may help many adults to stop smoking, keep former smokers who have recently quit from relapsing and help more young people withstand the social pressures to try cigarettes. Andy C. Parrott, Ph.D., University of East London, American Psychologist, Vol. Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office .