Teenagers who smoke cigarettes may damage more than their lungs – they could be endangering their mental health. A study in the journal Pediatrics finds that teen smokers are four times more likely than non-smokers to develop symptoms of depression.
In the study, researchers looked at data on 15,651 teens that participated in national study on adolescent health in 1995 and 1996. Of these, 8,704 of the teens were not initially depressed and 6,947 were not initially smokers. After one year, 4.8 percent of the nonsmokers reported experiencing symptoms of depression, while 12 percent of those teens who initially smoked at least a pack a day had depressive symptoms.
After taking into account factors such as friends’ tobacco use or poor grades that may have influenced kids to start smoking, these researchers concluded that the smoking appeared to be a cause of depression, not a response to it, as is commonly believed. They speculate that nicotine or other byproducts of cigarette smoke may have a depressive effect on the central nervous system, The Associated Press reports. However, the study does not definitively prove that smoking causes depression. It also did not determine whether the teens that smoked the most were at highest risk for depression. – from IntelliHealth.com newsletter
The following is from the Homeopathic Materia Medica for the homeopathic remedy Tabacum (tobacco), which has probably been known for over 100 years! It is a listing of the group of mental symptoms that the remedy will cause in a healthy person and will cure in a sick person. Self-treatment not recommended.
“Sensation of excessive wretchedness. Very despondent. Forgetful. Discontented. Indifferent. Slow perception. Brain fag [fatigue]. Idiotic; epileptic idiocy. Silly talk. Feels as if someone were coming to arrest him or murder him. Sadness better from complaining. Unconsciousness better from cold water poured over head. Anguish when walking in open air. Anxiety at night. Sudden anxiety. Anxiety from thinking about it. Anxiety better from weeping. Desire for company in the evening and at night. Confusion from motion. Delusions; preventing sleep. Fear after food; from noise; better from weeping. Doesn’t recognize his relatives. Sadness & impeded respiration. Suicidal disposition but lacks courage. Talks to himself. Unconsciousness as in a trance. Weeping improves symptoms.”
Many of the drugs used by allopathic medicine were originally used by homeopathic physicians first including aspirin!