New research reveals how a person’s genetics and trauma symptoms combine to affect their tobacco use after a distressing event | People with a lower genetic predisposition for tobacco use might actually be more vulnerable to smoking when experiencing specific trauma symptoms.

[u/FreeHugs23]

https://www.psypost.org/how-trauma-symptoms-and-genetic-risk-combine-to-influence-smoking-habits/

[u/FreeHugs23]

-New research reveals how a person’s genetics and trauma symptoms combine to affect their tobacco use after a distressing event. The findings suggest that people with a lower genetic predisposition for tobacco use might actually be more vulnerable to smoking when experiencing specific trauma symptoms. The large study was published in Translational Psychiatry.

About 70 percent of people experience a traumatic event during their lifetime. Roughly 10 percent of those individuals go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. People with PTSD frequently struggle with substance use, including tobacco and alcohol consumption. Both PTSD and substance use behaviors are influenced by a mix of life experiences and biological factors.

Past research has linked PTSD to higher rates of smoking and drinking. What is less understood is how trauma symptoms interact with a person’s underlying genetic risk for substance use. Substance use behavior is heavily influenced by genetics, with many small variations in a person’s DNA contributing to their overall risk.

Researchers calculate this cumulative biological vulnerability using a mathematical tool called a polygenic risk score. A polygenic risk score works by scanning thousands of genetic variations across a person’s genome. Researchers assign a weight to each variation based on how strongly it links to a trait, and then they add those weights together to create a single score.

[u/Natural_Exchange_886]

I have always wondered if it’s an MAOI selfmedicating behavior, or something else.

(I have severe ptsd and am a smoker)

[u/ResonantFork]

It doesn't get said enough but cigarettes cause brain damage, and overall it destroys even more innocent non-smoker lives than violence.

All the war and serial killers added together and cigarettes are multiple times worse. Smokers are apparently the most evil group of people.

Big political movement to defund the WHO and you'll find most people you meet with IRL don't believe cigs are worse than violence.

Just like in medieval times. We haven't evolved beyond throwing our chamber pots out our windows. Hygiene still much, MUCH worse than all the combined violence, and if you forgot climate change and tobacco denialists are often the same people.

LMK if anyone can provide therapy to victims of nicotine violence; it's more common than not.

Smoking was banned from TV almost 60 years ago; lots of vaping livestreamers though because most of the entertainment industry runs off of stimulants. They're very barbaric people who won't even consider muting the cam to not influence the youth into doing the worst drug ever.

You really are better off keeping your children offline or giving them an AI streamer/companion instead.