Negative emotion and tobacco use

Four studies of the link between negative emotions and tobacco use that included more than 12,000 participants find that sadness, but not all negative emotions, is reliably associated with the likelihood of current smoking, relapse into smoking 20 years later, level of impatience for cigarette puffs, and actual volume of puffs inhaled, suggesting a nuanced link between negative emotion and tobacco use, according to the authors.

Article #19-09888: “Sadness, but not all negative emotions, heightens addictive substance use,” by Charles A. Dorison et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Charles A. Dorison, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; tel: 413-441-7390; e-mail:

[email protected]

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