Smoking & Depression 

The Mental Health Association in Delaware offers a free brochure on the connection between smoking and mental health, due to a grant from the American Lung Association. The brochure, titled “Nicotine and Mental Health: Know the Facts,” focuses on the link between smoking and mental health disorders, and provides resources available in Delaware for helping people take control of their lives by quitting.

Individuals with mental health disorders are twice as likely to smoke as the general population, and studies indicate that those who smoke are more likely to develop symptoms of depression. While this may not necessarily indicate that smoking leads directly to mental illness, it does tell us that smoking and mental health disorders are linked, and that we need to understand this link in order to protect our physical and mental health.

In addition to the negative effects that smoking can have on an individual’s mental well being, smoking is dangerous to overall health and places individuals at increased risk for heart disease, cancer, and many other life-threatening illnesses.

The grant from the American Lung Association provides MHA the opportunity to distribute the brochure throughout the community as well as provide the brochure and other educational materials to deter people from starting to smoke and support and encourage people who would like to quit. The funding for the brochure and the presentations was made possible through the division of Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention Community Contract. Funding for the Contract is provided by the Delaware Health Fund and managed by the American Lung Association of Delaware.

Interested in Quitting?

Resources:

Delaware QuitLine
1-866-409-1858
Offers stop smoking resources and counseling on the phone or in person, as well as online support.

American Lung Association HelpLine
1-800 LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872)
www.lung.org
Offers a telephone counseling program, online chat, materials and resources to help you quit.

Teen Cessation (under 18 years)
Not on Tobacco (NOT) 1-800-LUNG USA
www.lung.org