Smoking affects your physical health, mental health and wellbeing. This is also true of vaping and other nicotine containing products, such as nicotine pouches.
Stopping smoking can improve your mood and help relieve stress, anxiety and depression.
We can help you quit.
Quit smoking with our help
Smoking, anxiety and mood
Smoking does not help relieve stress, anxiety or improve mood. This is a common misunderstanding.
Smoking does the opposite. The nicotine in cigarettes can cause symptoms similar to anxiety.
Smoking can negatively affect:
- your mood
- sleep quality
- how you feel about yourself
- your sense of being in control of your life
This increases your risk of:
Smoking, vaping or using other nicotine containing products is expensive. This can add to money worries.
Why it feels like smoking helps us relax
Most smokers say they want to stop. But some continue because they feel smoking relieves stress and anxiety.
The nicotine in cigarettes is very addictive. Smoking may feel relaxing because it relieves symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
When smokers go without a cigarette for a while, they start to crave nicotine. This can make them feel tense or anxious. These feelings can be temporarily relieved by smoking. Smokers then connect the improved mood and stress relief with smoking.
This common misunderstanding can be a barrier to people trying to quit. Quitting has been clearly shown to improve mental health.
When you smoke, nicotine levels rise and fall in your body throughout the day. For example, nicotine levels drop overnight while you are sleeping. This is why you may have strong cravings for a cigarette first thing in the morning.
Mental health benefits of quitting smoking
Stopping smoking improves mood and reduces anxiety.
When people stop smoking, they:
- reduce levels of anxiety, depression and stress
- feel better about themselves
- feel more in control
- can get better quality sleep
Stopping smoking can help reduce symptoms of anxiety disorder and depression as much as treatment with antidepressants.
Smokers with mental health difficulties
People with mental health difficulties are more likely to smoke than other people. They also tend to smoke more.
It is part of the reason why people who smoke and have mental health difficulties die younger than the general population. They often die an average of 10 to 20 years earlier. This is often due to smoking related illnesses.
Smoking has negative effects on mood. But it also interferes with the way some antipsychotic medicines and antidepressants work - smokers may need higher doses.
Most smokers with mental health difficulties want to give up.
After quitting, smokers with mental health difficulties:
- are likely to feel much calmer and more positive
- may need a lower dosage of some medicines
Prepare to quit
Talk to your GP or psychiatrist before you try to quit. If you take antipsychotic medicines or antidepressants, they may need to change the amount or dose you take.
Get the support you need to stop smoking
Sign up for a Quit plan for free, personalised support.
This plan includes the options of having:
- 1-to-1 support from a trained stop smoking advisor
- daily supportive texts and emails
You can get support 1-to-1 in a clinic, over the phone, or in a group. Your advisor will let you know what options are available in your area.
You can also get help from your mental health support team, GP, public health nurse (PHN) or psychiatrist.
Find your local stop smoking clinic
You can talk to your stop smoking advisor about:
- types of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and what will work best for you
- prescription medicines to stop smoking
- ways to cope with cravings and withdrawal
Dealing with difficult feelings
You may feel angry, low or anxious after you quit smoking or using other nicotine containing products. These feelings can happen to anyone trying to quit.
It can help to find ways of coping that work for you.
You could try to:
- distract yourself - for example, with a book, music or television
- go for a walk or do another form of physical activity
- call or meet a friend
- turn negative thoughts into positive ones
- focus on what's good about you and your life
- talk to someone who understands you
Lots of people smoke to deal with stressful situations. Try to find other ways to cope.
Support for your mental health
Most people find that difficult feelings get easier over time. Talk to your GP if things do not get easier for you.
Information and support for your mental health and wellbeing