The DOI matches its Crossref record; 103 of the 105 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Smoking and suicide: A brief overview
Open accessAbstract
This article provides a brief overview of the rationales, possible mechanisms and epidemiological data on the association of smoking, smoking cessation and cessation medications with suicide. Current smoking is reliably associated with suicide both in case-control and cohort studies. The three most plausible (but relatively untested) explanations for the association are that smokers have pre-existing conditions that increase their risk for suicide, smoking causes painful and debilitating conditions that might lead to suicide, and smoking decreases serotonin and monoamine oxidase levels. Stopping smoking appears to lead to major depression in some smokers; thus, it could induce suicide; however, smoking cessation has not been associated with suicide in the few studies available. Regulatory agencies have stated bupropion, rimonabant and varenicline appear to be associated with suicide; however, the data for these statements have not been presented in sufficient detail to assess their validity. Most prior data have come from post hoc analyses. Studies that a priori focus on understanding smoking and suicide are now needed.
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“The underlying mechanism for this increased risk is unclear, although confounding by alcohol misuse and mental illness seems to explain some, but certainly not all, of the association.1”
From Are smoking cessation treatments associated with suicidality risk? An overview (2016) · cites this paper as [1]
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“Although active smokers have been reported to have twofold to threefold increased risk of suicidality when compared to nonsmokers,1–4”
From Are smoking cessation treatments associated with suicidality risk? An overview (2016) · cites this paper as [1]
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Cites
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Antidepressants for smoking cessation
Hughes, J. R., Stead, L. F., & Lancaster, T. (2007) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd000031.pub3 · Cited by 567
Self-citationAntidepressants for smoking cessation
Hughes, J. R., Stead, L. F., Hartmann‐Boyce, J., Cahill, K., & Lancaster, T. (2014) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd000031.pub4 · Cited by 357
Self-citationWhy young people's substance use matters for global health
Hall, W., Patton, G. C., Stockings, E., Weier, M., Lynskey, M. T., Morley, K. I., & Degenhardt, L. J. (2016) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(16)00013-4 · Cited by 360
Plasma kynurenine levels are elevated in suicide attempters with major depressive disorder
Sublette, M. E., Galfalvy, H. C., Fuchs, D., Lapidus, M., Grunebaum, M. F., Oquendo, M. A., John Mann, J., & Postolache, T. T. (2011) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2011.05.002 · Cited by 250
Smoking, quitting, and psychiatric disease: A review
Aubin, H., Rollema, H., Svensson, T. H., & Winterer, G. (2011) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.06.007 · Cited by 241
Metadata
- Authors
- Hughes, J. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Vermont (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hughes, John R.
- ORCID
- Hughes, John R.
- Venue
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-12
- Volume
- 98
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 169-178
- ISSN
- 0376-8716 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2585177
- OpenAlex
- W2062560594
- Cited by
- 236
- References
- 105
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 1.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Drug and Alcohol Dependence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA00490, K05DA000490)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- smoking, suicide, smoking cessation, smoking cessation medication, bupropion, rimonabant, varenicline, major depressive disorder, serotonin, monoamine oxidase, suicide risk factors, suicide epidemiology
- MeSH terms
- Antidepressive Agents, Cannabinoids, Humans, Smoking, Suicide, Biomarkers, Smoking Cessation, Self-Injurious Behavior, Nicotinic Agonists
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