Smoking Greatly Increases Risk of Depression

Smokers are far more likely to suffer from depression than non-smokers shows new research from Spain's University of Navarra and University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria and the Harvard School of Public Health.

For six years, researchers studied 8,556 college-educated individuals with an average age of 42. During this time, 190 smokers who did not previously suffer depression were diagnosed with the disease. An additional 65 reported taking antidepressant medication.

Overall, smokers were found to be 41 percent more likely to develop depression than non-smokers. Interestingly, the group least likely to develop depression was former smokers who had quit at least a decade earlier.

The research also noted that an increase in tobacco use was correlated with a lessening of physical activity in the smoker's free time. Previous research has shown physical activity to have a substantial impact on mood.

Read more: Smokers have a 41% higher risk of suffering depression, according to research from the University of Navarra