Classically it was associated the consumption of cigarettes with the
anxiety and the stress. In this revision the current state of this question is
analyzed. In the epidemiological studies appear a clear and significant
association among smoking and the anxiety disorders. Equally, most of
the studies find that the smokers have a bigger trait anxiety that the non
smokers or those that smoke few cigarettes. This relationship is as much in adolescents as in adults. To smoke increases the stress. When the subject
smoking cessation it reduces the stress level and the anxiety, relationship
that it is increased with the time of abstinence. The stress is an
element negative to many people to stop smoking or facilitate the relapse.
With the available evidence it is analyzed the role of this relationship
to the prevention and the treatment of the smoking.