Smoking may be causal factor in developing schizophrenia: researchers
It’s possible that nicotine exposure, by increasing the release of dopamine, causes psychosis to develop
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Monday, July 13, 2015
Monday, July 13, 2015
In research that turns on its head previous thinking about links between schizophrenia and smoking, scientists say cigarettes may be a causal factor in the development of psychosis. Previous studies have linked cannabis use to psychosis. But there is much debate about whether this is causal or whether there may be shared genes that predispose people to both cannabis use and schizophrenia. James MacCabe, a psychosis expert who co-led the research at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, said the new results suggest “it might even be possible that the real villain is tobacco, not cannabis” – since cannabis users often combine with tobacco.
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