Smoke? You May Be More Likely to Commit Suicide
Here's another reason to give up smoking. It may make you want to commit suicide. Seriously, a new study has found that smoking may contribute to suicide risk. Cigarette smokers are more likely to commit suicide than people who don’t smoke, studies have shown. In the past, this used to be attributed to the fact that many people with psychiatric illnesses, smoke, and they, of course, may be more prone to suicide. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis finds that smoking itself may increase suicide risk and that policies to limit smoking reduce suicide rates. The study reports that suicide rates declined up to 15 percent, relative to the national average, in states that implemented higher taxes on cigarettes and stricter policies to limit smoking in public places. “Our analysis showed that each dollar increase in cigarette taxes was associated with a 10 percent decrease in suicide risk,” said author Richard A. Grucza, PhD, associ