Scientists, carried out works under leadership of the National Institute for Mental Health (MIMH) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), have found that smoking in young age could increase the possibility of developing different psychiatric diseases in mature age. These diseases emerged are based on the feelings of anxiety and panic as well as on the fear of open space. Researchers from the University of Columbia and the Psychiatric Institute of New-York state (USA) announced the results of their work in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) issued November, 8.

Numerous studies show that smoking is a reason of various psychiatric diseases. Cigarette smoking can quickly affect the emotional side of human health even before any well-known physical consequences, cancer in particular, might have occurred.

The research data obviously confirm the interconnection of the processes, related to development of anxiety and other nervous disorders children and adults have. Researchers surveyed 688 youngsters and their mothers over the periods from 1985 to 1986 and from 1991 to 1993. They discovered that appr. 31% of the youngsters who smoked 20 and over cigarettes a day got an anxiety feeling and first stresses when they were only 21.

The group of researchers used aggregate information based on the data obtained over the last 25 years. At the same time, all other factors which could initiate psychiatric diseases development (tested persons’ age, their sex, a way their childhood went on, whether their parents smoked, education their parents had, parent’s nature, use of medicine by parents in young age) were excluded.

The fact that youngsters considered smoking as a way to relax and calm down is likely to be a reason of psychiatric disorder development. The “relaxing” ability of the smoked tobacco is similar to effect which any drug triggers. But just only at the beginning.

In the course of time, narcotic effect of cigarette smoking stops relaxing man’s organism. At the same time, a man is getting accustomed to smoking; emotional need to continuously smoke one cigarette after another rises. Consequently, a number of smoked cigarettes goes up. Therefore, an effect of dependence from smoking cigarettes emerges, which itself, without an influence of other factors, initiates nervous irritation.

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