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Media release Official: New study shows immediate effect of tobacco on mood and ability |
July 26, 2002 |
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“
That
“relaxing” cigarette to “calm the nerves” is in fact more
likely to make even light smokers cranky and incompetent, according to
new research. A
study from King’s College, London, just published in Pharmacology,
Biochemistry and Behaviour journal*
assessed the moods of light smokers (5-12 cigarettes a day)
immediately after one of their usual puff breaks, against a control
group of non-smokers. Far
from relaxed or calmed by their cigarette, the smokers “felt
overall significantly more discontented, troubled, tense, quarrelsome,
furious, impatient, hostile, annoyed and disgusted and experienced
greater dizziness,” says the study report. After
performing some cognitive tests, the smokers compared with the
non-smokers were also “more disoriented and anxious... spiteful,
rebellious, incompetent and... sweating, suggesting that they
experienced greater mood changes in response to cognitive stress.” Comments
Anne Jones, CEO of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Australia: “We
hear a lot about the long-term, serious health dangers of tobacco but
this study makes the point that tobacco smoking has some very
immediate effects on mood and ability - including making smokers
cranky and tense. “The
tobacco industry has for decades promoted users of their products as
calm, confident, rugged individualists
in control of their own lives. However, this marketing image doesn’t
stack up in practice against the sweating, cranky person you can
become if you smoke - even lightly.” *
File SE, Dinnis AK, Heard JE and
Irvine EE, “Mood
differences between male and female light smokers and nonsmokers”,
in Pharmacology,
Biochemistry & Behavior, June 2002:
72(3):681-689. Abstract
at
www.elsevier.nl/locate/pharmbiochembeh?menu=cont&label=Table Comment:
Anne Jones, CEO
ph. (02) 9334-1876 Media
inquiries:
Stafford Sanders
ph. (02) 9334-1823 |
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Page last updated on 26/7/2002 |
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