It is my opinion that there is such an interaction between smoking and consuming alcohol, that I am amazed that I have never heard of anyone else believing this besides me. Every person whom I know or know of who is a full-blown alcoholic smokes. I am talking about those peeps who are so addicted that they need to go into re-hab, not the ones who just like to drink socially and sometimes overdo it. I mean the ones whose personality changes when they are drunk, or the ones who become nasty and abusive of other people.
Have there been any kind of studies done on this interaction?
Once when I was into irish music and none of my friends were, I would go to the clubs and listen to it on my own and I would feel funny standing against the wall with no one to talk to so one day I bought a pack of Marlboros and lit one up. I was 37 at the time and had never so much as taken a puff of a cigarrette but I guess I felt the need to do so. I noticed that when I would drink along with the smoking, I would act completely different on the booze. I remember walking the four mile distance to my house (in 3 inch heels) and when I got there my boyfriend said I was acting really strangely and I became obsessed with finding my old guitar which I hadn’t touched in ten years. I then went outside and said I was hot (it wasn’t), and tried to take off my top. This was completely out of character for me, as I am the type pf person who really does not like to lose control, especially in front of others nor am I the even the slightest bit of an exhibitionist. The next time I drank and smoked I accused someone of putting something into my drink. Totally ridiculous. I seen to see similar behavior in people who drink and smoke and have been doing so for a long time. So, what do you think was going on? It seems ot me that the two substances must be interacting in some weird way, otherwise, why do I always see this behavior in hrad-core drunks? Have you observed this phenomenon or is it just me?
It seems there are two claims here - that smoking and alcoholism are correlated, and that nicotine and tobacco combine to produce third effects not present in either substance.
The first claim is true - there is a strong correlation, according to this cite. However, it’s not as absolute as you imply - I know several alcoholics and one recovering alcoholic who are non-smokers. It’s certainly not a 100% thing.
The second argument seems more dubious to me. I don’t have any of the expertise to be able to answer it in good faith, but I’d caution you against believing that “the two substances must be interacting in some weird way” just because of your personal experience in two situations. “Must” is a strong word. There are obviously dozens of potential factors that could have made you act strangely - perhaps the same factors that influenced you to smoke are what made you act out of character.
That cite I gave earlier has a potential lead - it says that nicotine’s stimulant effects can “neutralized” the depressant effects of alcohol, leading to increased consumption. Makes sense to me, but it isn’t really a third effect. It does make sense in the context of your experience. To me, your description just sounds like someone who is really, really wasted.
Well, I was going more for the third effect theory. I cited the anecdotes I could readily think of but there were more instances of my having acting weird. I really couldn’t stand the cigs after a while but I went to the clubs a lot that year, and when I no longer smoked, the weird behavior stopped. Maybe I am just weird.
I must say, cigarettes when I’m buzzed are awesome; when I’m sober, they’re disgusting. There’s definitely something going on there.
Dancing when I’m buzzed is awesome; when I’m sober, it’s disgusting. Why couldn’t that just be impaired judgement?