Smokers have lower IQ

[SneeringTree]

I know the low IQ smokers will come in and say things like "the research is bias", "I don't believe in the research", "my friend's girldfriend's godmother's grandfather smoked 100 cigarettes a day, had an IQ of 300 and lived till 125 years old".

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Home > Breaking News > Tech and Science > Story
Feb 24, 2010


Smokers have lower IQ

Cigarette smokers have lower IQs than non-smokers, and the more a person smokes, the lower their IQ, according to a study of over 20,000 Israeli military recruits. --ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

NEW YORK - CIGARETTE smokers have lower IQs than non-smokers, and the more a person smokes, the lower their IQ, according to a study of over 20,000 Israeli military recruits.

Dr Mark Weiser and colleagues from Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer found that young men who smoked a pack of cigarettes a day or more had IQ scores 7.5 points lower than non-smokers. 'Adolescents with poorer IQ scores might be targeted for programmes designed to prevent smoking,' they conclude in the journal Addiction.

While there is evidence for a link between smoking and lower IQ, many studies have relied on intelligence tests given in childhood, and have also included people with mental and behavioral problems, who are both more likely to smoke and more likely to have low IQs, Dr Weiser and his team noted.

To better understand the smoking-IQ relationship, the researchers looked at 20,211 18-year-old men recruited into the Israeli military. The group did not include anyone with major mental health problems, because these individuals are disqualified from military service.

According to the researchers, 28 percent of the study participants smoked at least one cigarette a day, around 3 per cent said they were ex-smokers, and 68 percent had never smoked. The smokers had significantly lower intelligence test scores than non-smokers, and this remained true even after the researchers accounted for socioeconomic status measured by how many years of formal education a recruit's father had completed.

The average IQ for non-smokers was about 101, while it was 94 for men who had started smoking before entering the military. IQ steadily dropped as the number of cigarettes smoked increased, from 98 for people who smoked one to five cigarettes daily to 90 for those who smoked more than a pack a day. IQ scores from 84 to 116 are considered to indicate average intelligence. -- REUTERS

 

[oli9]

Why bother with this article?
If smokers have a higher IQ they wouldve digest this article & stopped smoking altogether!!!

 

[Alamaking]

Smokers are retards, LOL

 

[SneeringTree]

Why bother with this article?
If smokers have a higher IQ they wouldve digest this article & stopped smoking altogether!!!

So the article is on the right track!

 

[porkchop75]

Smokers would compare themselves to folks with downs syndrome & say down syndrome sufferers don't smoke yet have lower IQ than them (smokers).....

 

[SneeringTree]

Smokers would compare themselves to folks with downs syndrome & say down syndrome sufferers don't smoke yet have lower IQ than them (smokers).....

Haha that's a good one! But I would like to believe smokers are not *that* stupid lah!

 

[porkchop75]

Haha that's a good one! But I would like to believe smokers are not *that* stupid lah!

I'd like to believe it too but being a slave to ciggies, they'd say ANYTHING to justify their smoking.

It's no different when they say air pollution from vehicles is worse than their smoking so it's ok to smoke.....

 

[vamjok]

i know people who won nobel prize that are smoker

 

[SneeringTree]

i know people who won nobel prize that are smoker

Thanks for making my prophecy come true. I knew someone will say something along this line to defend smokers. Of course, there are exceptions and outliers to any research. But we are interested in the trend, the general rule. And that rule, which the Israeli study demonstrated, is that smokers have lower IQ than non-smokers. Comprehend?

 

[porkchop75]

i know people who won nobel prize that are smoker

Well, if they didn't smoke, they'd be destined for even greater achievements.

 

[jw5]

Thanks for making my prophecy come true. I knew someone will say something along this line to defend smokers. Of course, there are exceptions and outliers to any research. But we are interested in the trend, the general rule. And that rule, which the Israeli study demonstrated, is that smokers have lower IQ than non-smokers. Comprehend?

I don't think it's true, and I was the one who started the thread entitled "Smoking".
But I do think that over time, they become more and more inconsiderate towards others who can't stand their cigarette smoke.

 

[Stage 5]

i know people who won nobel prize that are smoker

You mean him?
Only in like a million to one chance you'll find the odd smoking genius like Einstein.

But to be fair, there are plenty non-smokers who are pretty dumb too.

 

[Ah Hai]

The World Health Organization has stated that tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals, of which nicotine is just one.

Smoking means you take into your body the following poisons:

In addition to tar, carbon monoxide is present (found also in car exhaust fumes), ammonia (used in floor cleaner) and arsenic (used in rat poison).

At least 40 of the chemicals in tobacco smoke are proven to cause cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, bladder and kidneys and the smoke also causes a number of other cancers.

There is no evidence at all that nicotine can cause cancer.

Smoking fact - Nicotine in pure organic form is good for your health

Nicotine is a naturally occurring compound and part of the food chain.

Trace elements are found in many common foods including vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, eggplant, chili peppers, and also some teas.

Nicotine makes you feel good

Nicotine switches on the receptors on the surface of cells in certain parts of the brain, causing these neurons to release the Neuro-transmitter dopamine, a chemical that is associated with feelings of pleasure.

Nicotine not only makes you feel better it helps improve concentration and memory and it is proven to help a number of conditions including:

Depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's diseases and attention disorder.

Drug companies are already researching drugs with nicotine in to help these conditions removed from cigarette smoking and the first one has hit the market.

Nicotine water which simply delivers nicotine in water with no added chemicals is already on the market and more products are expected to follow.

Originally aimed at smokers foe when they cant or don't want to smoke, more people today are taking it for its potential health benefits.

Expect more products to hit the market shortly as the potential health benefits of nicotine gain wider acceptance.

 

[vamjok]

You mean him?
Only in like a million to one chance you'll find the odd smoking genius like Einstein.

But to be fair, there are plenty non-smokers who are pretty dumb too.

i am a non-smoker myself

my idol in my field is Robert Burns Woodward. he smoke and drink while giving lecture in university.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns_Woodward

 

[Perspective]

Honestly, hardly any smokers would defend themselves. Many know the ill effects and want to quit. But it takes a lot of determination to.

 

[tioliaohuat]

Smoking can aid concentration and the memory, offering hope of a nicotine pill to help Alzheimer's sufferers

 

[porkchop75]

My dad used to tell me this when I was younger: He can never respect a smoker, especially in management.

He asked his smoker colleagues (during his time, smokers were allowed to smoke in the office) why they needed to smoke. Their reply was that they had to smoke to concentrate & make the right decisions. His reply to them was "How can one respect a decision-maker, whose decisions would affect the company & its employees, are made by a cigarette between his fingers & not his head?"

I used to think he was being too harsh towards smokers but if there was a life & death situation & the decision maker (who is a smoker) ran out of cigarettes, the results would be devastating.

 

[scroobal]

I think the research is just reflecting that the better educated and the smarter ones avoid smoking in the first place. Among the smokers, the smarter ones will reduce intakes as they are more aware of the consequence of smoking too much including not being covered by medical insurance. The less able ones will not be in a position to pay for insurance coverage in the first place.

Its no different to research showing that gardeners have lower IQ than Universities dons. I am sure its nothing to do with the gardens being a factor except that mundane activities rarely tests the brain.I am sure if it is proven that smoking leads to longevity, the high IQ people will puffing away more as they can afford to live longer. If this research was done 50 years ago, I would guess the IQ levels would reflect society similar to wearing shoes when going out.

 

[Queen Seok Duk]

The Pappies are great smokers too ("GST to help the poor etc.), but they are among the top 30 best paid politicians in the world.:p

 

[UseYourBrain]

LKY was a chain smoker, yet he rule your guys for many many years without having to sweat. So if this theory is right then what it tells about sinkies IQ? Lower than a low IQ smoker?