People with more nature in their neighborhoods smoke and drink less, study finds

People who live in greener neighborhoods smoke and drink less on average, and those who make regular visits to nature tend not to smoke.

A new international collaboration led by the University of Exeter has found that residential green space is associated with a significant reduction in health risk behaviors such as smoking and everyday drinking. The study found people living in the greenest neighborhoods were 13% less likely to be current smokers and 31% less likely to drink alcohol every day than those in less green areas.

This research—which is part of the BlueHealth project and published in Health & Place—has, for the first time, analyzed data across multiple countries and different types of nature contact and highlights the potential of green spaces as a public health intervention.

The findings are consistent across different countries, household income and educational attainment. Therefore, the presence of green spaces near someone’s home, lowering health risk behaviors, appears to be beneficial to all and not limited to particular groups.

Researchers also found that people who make intentional visits to nature away from their home at least once a week are less likely to smoke.

Lead author Dr. Leanne Martin at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter said, “Our finding that nature seems to be beneficial to all in society is hugely important because it goes some way to leveling the playing field in terms of reducing health inequalities.

“We’ve accounted for a wide range of socioeconomic factors in our research and found the benefits are not determined by things like having a higher income or living in more affluent areas. For those people who don’t live in areas with high green space, we’ve found those intentional visits to nature also have huge benefits.”

The study defines residential green space as land comprised of vegetation and natural elements within 250 meters of someone’s home, including private gardens. Data was used from the BlueHealth International Survey, a cross-sectional survey of 18,838 adults (9,645 females) from 18 countries and across various socio-demographic groups.

The findings suggest that the positive effects of residential green spaces in reducing smoking and everyday drinking could be harnessed as a public health intervention. This could involve nature-based interventions for people looking to quit smoking, or to treat alcohol misuse.

Co-author Dr. Mat White at the University of Vienna said, “We don’t think it’s simply a coincidence that those who are exposed to nature smoke and drink less. A growing number of studies are showing that when people are exposed to nature, they have fewer cravings for substances like alcohol and nicotine. In part, we think this is because they tend to be calmer and don’t need that “hit,” which helps them give up smoking, for instance.”

The study provides a starting point for even more detailed research looking into whether improved access and maintenance of urban green spaces could offer public health providers viable strategies for reducing multiple health risk behaviors.