A New Study Says That Smoking Leads To An Increase In Feeling Lonely
A study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council & Imperial College London recently found a correlation between smoking cigarettes and feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Scientists were able to track participants over 12 years of their lives to observe the psychosocial effects of long-term smoking.
The study’s demographic? “Community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and over,” authors wrote in the report’s methods section.
The study used self-assessments to measure participants’ baselines for social interaction or involvement and potential changes after 4, 8, and 12 years.
Scientists calculated each person’s current social output—or how often they chose to isolate versus engaging with others—in domestic situations or otherwise.
So, how did these scientists turn their data into a conclusion? First, they found that even a smoker’s baseline of loneliness was higher than their non-smoking counterpart’s.
The authors wrote that they had:
“Less frequent social interactions with family and friends”
“Less frequent engagement with community and cultural activities”
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And were “more likely to live alone.”
Contrary to popular belief that “social smoking” can provide opportunities to engage in intimate connections with others, the study finds the opposite to be true.
Though there was no detectable correlation between long-term smoking and habitation patterns, i.e., living alone or with others, there was substantial evidence of increased social isolation over time.
One explanation for this might be that smoking has fallen out of favor within many communities and is perhaps an unflattering habit to some.
However, there is another crucial connection; the authors provided background evidence for the study, citing that, “smoking, social isolation, and loneliness are all related to increased morbidity and mortality.”
It makes sense that a life-threatening or at least life-shortening activity could increase a person’s proximity to ideas of death or nihilism.
Perhaps if more “social smokers” were exposed to its long-term psychological effects, they would also count their description as a misnomer.
You can review the study’s findings here.
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