If I say that work pressure can at times be a good thing, you are likely to laugh at me. But guess what, when it comes to keeping a person away from nicotine, work pressure is the best.


According to a new study, contrary to popular belief, the pressures of work can actually lower a smoker's nicotine dependence. The finding was published in BioMed Central's open access journal, Tobacco Induced Diseases.

The German team, led by Anna Schmidt from the University of Cologne, set out to examine the associations between occupational smoking and nicotine dependence. She examined 197 employed smokers.

The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, an internationally recognized and statistically validated test for assessing the degree of nicotine dependence in smokers, was used to obtain more detailed information about participating employed smokers.

The results of the study indicate that employees who experience stress at work are likely to smoke less than they otherwise would, and, thus, they have a lower dependence on nicotine. The team of researchers speculated that the unexpected findings could be explained by excess work pressure, long working hours and strict smoking regulations.

Heavy work load permits men to smoke only during their spare time and work pressure leaves you with very little time to spare.

The study also found that being religious, married, and having a higher level of education and awareness have significant effects on the prevention of nicotine dependence.