Tobacco plus alcohol reduces intelligence

The ability to think in people who receive both cigarettes and alcohol as " allies " will be severely reduced. The cause may be due to the long-term harmful effects of nicotine addiction.

Among alcoholics, smoking cases are much more at risk. Tobacco has a negative association with IQ and thinking , said Dr. Jennifer M. Glass, of the University of Michigan (USA).

Glass's results seem counterintuitive, because many smokers claim they are more alert and focused after burning a cigarette. However, improved mental function is just an immediate effect of nicotine, if the addiction is long, it will have the opposite effect.

To investigate the " evil " link between alcohol and tobacco, Glass and colleagues examined brain function of 172 people, including 103 alcoholics. The team found people in the high risk index group on LAPS (alcohol-related incident measurement throughout life) and those who smoke every day on a pack of cigarettes with very high IQ. low. The scores of thinking tests related to speed and accuracy such as short memory tests, language reasoning skills and math are also low.

The analytical results show that smoking foreshadows the risk of thinking less clear and powerful than alcoholism. Smoking also causes degradation of the ability to reason language. The cause of this phenomenon, according to Glass, may be because some mechanisms are directly related to the narrowing of blood flow to the brain.

My Linh ( according to Reuters )