After-dinner brainwork makes quitting smoking harder

Engaging in mental activities after dinner seems to aggravate the urge to smoke among people seeking to quit the addiction, a recent study has found.

A total of 369 patients seeking help for cessation participated in the present study and were administered a survey, designed to collect information about tobacco use patterns and mental activity. Such activities included overtime work, playing video games, studying, and gambling, among other similar thinking tasks.

Participants were divided into two according to age: ≤40 years (n=166) and >40 years (n=203). In the younger age group, 91 reported engaging in mental activities after dinner, while 71 did not. The two subgroups were comparable in terms of age and sex, though the former had a slightly higher mean body mass index (23.39±3.18 vs 22.40±3.29 kg/m2; p=0.053).

Notably, average daily cigarette consumption did not differ between those who did vs did not have mental activities after dinner (21.96±11.91 vs 20.39±8.12 cigarettes; p=0.342).

The opposite was true in the older age group. Those who engaged in mental activities before bedtime consumed a mean of 30.88±18.69 cigarettes per day, significantly greater than the 22.80±10.86 daily consumption in their counterparts who had no such activities.

General linear models confirmed the significant link between mental activities after dinner and greater cigarette use in the older age group (p<0.001).

“Our study adds to the accumulating evidence that mental thinking activities after dinner are risk factors for tobacco smoking,” the researchers said. “And our data provides the suggestion that avoiding this behaviour may raise the possibility of nicotine cessation.”