Giuseppe de Giovanni, head of the smoking research team.Giuseppe de Giovanni, head of the smoking research team.

Smokers are often quick to light up whenever they feel stressed or anxious, but according to new Maltese research, reaching for a cigarette could actually be making the situation worse.

The scientific community has long been divided on whether smoking decreases stress levels – as most smokers would insist – or increases anxiety and tension.

Now, researchers at the University of Malta have demonstrated that the feeling of relaxation that follows the inhalation of tobacco smoke is simply a short-term sensation caused by the release of dopamine, the brain’s neurotransmitter of pleasure.

“This feeling of relaxation is temporary and soon gives way to withdrawal symptoms and in-creased cravings,” said Giuseppe de Giovanni, a professor of human physiology and the head of the research team.

“Smoking increases stress and does not reduce anxiety – but only stops the withdrawal symptoms, giving a short-lived pleasant sensation.”

The local research supports the findings of a recent study at Swansea University, which confirmed that smokers report a higher level of anxiety and stress than non-smokers.

Moreover, by investigating the effect of nicotine on rat brains,the Maltese team discovered that the anxiety induced by nicotineis controlled by a small brain area called the lateral habenula, which is activated by unpleasant events and behaviours that lead to punishment.

This discovery could have major implications for helping people to kick their smoking habit. Among adult smokers, 80 per cent report the desire to quit completely, but most of those who attempt to quit on their own relapse within the first month, and only three per cent manage to stop smoking for more than six months.

Most of those who try to quit on their own relapse within the first month

Prof. de Giovanni, who coordinates the Malta Neuroscience Network, proposes that instead of replacing nicotine with a similar drug, smoking cessation therapies could focus on activating the lateral habenula to increase nicotine-aversive effects.

“This would increase the unpleasant properties of nicotine so that instead of enjoying the drug, smokers would no longer desire it,” he explained.

The researchers are now following up with ways to use their work to help with the treatment of anxiety disorders, one of the most common mental health issues across the world.

Their discovery, Prof. de Giovanni believes, could be translated into new treatments aimed at inhibiting the lateral habenula, which is over-activated in patients with anxiety and depression.

Prof. de Giovanni is also working on a book in Maltese and English based on his battle against smoking, both in the lab and in his personal life, which he hopes will raise awareness and money for the university’s Brain Research Fund.

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