People who quit smoking are more likely to develop depression or acquire another habit, according to a recent US study.
The study, now published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which used data from the US National Drug Abuse Survey, says people who smoked were more likely to experience depression, cannabis use or heavy alcohol consumption.
During the study, the rate of severe depression among people who quit smoking rose from 4.88% to 6.04%.
During the same period, heavy alcohol consumption increased from 17.22% to 22.33%.
Marijuana use doubled from 5.35% to 10.09%.
The new study was based on the participation of 67,035 people from across the United States who used to smoke.
The study is somewhat flawed as the design asked participants to self-report, which means that the results may be biased.
Researchers have also known alcohol consumption as excessive drinking last month, but marijuana abuse was measured over the past year.
The US team acknowledges that marijuana use across the United States has increased during the study period, possibly due to efforts to codify it, according to Medical News Today.