Smoking's social myth challenged as 50,000-person study links it to loneliness
Smoking is not social and leads to increased loneliness, according to a large Europe-wide study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
A major European study of over 50,000 people has found that smoking is linked to increased loneliness, challenging the notion that cigarette smoking is a social activity. Dr. Keir Philip, a clinical lecturer in respiratory medicine at Imperial College London, presented the findings at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona.
The researchers analyzed data from the Survey of Health and Ageing in Europe, which included participants from 15 countries. The study measured loneliness using the UCLA loneliness scale and compared current smokers with non-smokers. Researchers found that smokers were lonelier than non-smokers, even after accounting for factors like age, gender, and chronic illnesses.
Philip explained that smoking may damage psychosocial health by limiting mobility due to progressive smoking-related illnesses. He also suggested that social norms around smoking bans may make social interactions less appealing for smokers. Philip believes the findings support the idea that smoking is not a social activity and leads to increased social isolation and loneliness.
He called for changing the public narrative to highlight the psychosocial impacts of smoking. Professor Des Cox, a member of the European Respiratory Society's Advocacy Council, emphasized the importance of supporting people to quit smoking without stigmatizing them and highlighted the need to address the psychosocial effects of smoking.
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