If you're a smoker, it is already known that you are at risk of cancer and chronic diseases. However, a recent study suggests that smoking can also triple the chances of developing psychosis.

Based on the research published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, a team of scientists from Kings College has found that chemicals in tobacco may help trigger serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.  According to ABC News' The World Today, the researchers analyzed the data from 61 observational studies conducted all over the globe between 1980 and 2014. And the result? Fifty-seven percent of the people diagnosed with psychosis were smokers.

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The majority of people with mental illness also happen to be smokers. Previously, the fact that people with psychotic mental illnesses are more likely to smoke has been put down to non-causal factors like obtaining relief from distress or self-medication, Irish Examiner noted. But the recent research found that daily tobacco use, which is already known to cause cancer and stroke, may also cause mental illness as well as genetic and environmental influences.

"While it is always hard to determine the direction of causality, our findings indicate that smoking should be taken seriously as a possible risk factor for developing psychosis, and not dismissed simply as a consequence of the illness," King's College London team member Dr. James MacCabe said.

The causality of these findings, however, are challenging and difficult to prove, the scientists admitted. But one theory cited is the possible connection of smoking and excess dopamine, a brain chemical that plays a role in transmitting nerve signals.

According to King's College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Professor Sir Robin Murray, the excess dopamine is the best biological explanation for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia. He added the possibility that by increasing the release of dopamine through nicotine exposure can cause psychosis to develop.

Preceding studies have also associated cannabis use to psychosis, Live Mint reported. However, there is much debate about whether this is causal or whether there may be shared genes which predispose people to both cannabis use and schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that affects one in 100 people. It typically begins in early adulthood with most common symptoms including disruptions in thinking and perception, and patients often have psychotic experiences.

Meanwhile, the latest study still requires longer-term investigation about the association between daily smoking, sporadic smoking, nicotine dependence and the development of psychotic disorders.

Tagssmoking, Smoking Study, schizophrenia, Study, psychosis, mental illness, dopamine