Three mechanisms predominate for beneficial effects of smoking: the ‘anti-estrogenic effect’ of smoking; alterations in prostaglandin production; and stimulation of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the central nervous system

Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious

Baron JA. Beneficial effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking: the real, the possible and the spurious. Br Med Bull. 1996 Jan;52(1):58-73. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011533. PMID: 8746297.