# Does smoking make you smarter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837 "2001-04-13T14:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/41 "2014-06-27T11:01:30Z")
Here is my theory: folks who have given up smoking after having been smokers for a significant period of time basically suffer from some type of withdrawal for the rest of their lives. I once worked for a man who had given up smoking fairly recently when he was responsible for managing an important project which absolutely had to be finished on time. It was my impression that without his cigarettes, the man was irritable, easily distracted and he had a hard time focussing for longer periods of time. When the pressure became too high, he started smoking again. He was almost instantly able to work more efficiently, he was back on his game. On the other hand, people who never smoked like myself probably wouldn’t be able to push their intellectual capacities if they started smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/42 "2014-06-27T15:52:14Z")
This seems like a good application for vaping. I understand it’s something like 100 times safer than the tobacco-combustion plan. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/43 "2014-06-27T18:41:56Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Here is my theory: folks who have given up smoking after having been smokers for a significant period of time basically suffer from some type of withdrawal for the rest of their lives. How significant a time period? I only smoked for 5ish years and quit with an ecig that I still use daily. I suspect I’ll be vaping for the rest of my life, because I feel very foggy and stupid without nicotine. That was reflected in mistakes at work that nearly cost me my previous job. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/44 "2014-06-27T18:54:08Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > \*\*Does smoking make you smarter? \*\* > > No, but beer does. > > It made Bud wiser. _SLAP_ Ow! (runs away.) It definitely made me one of the coor kids. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/45 "2014-06-27T19:16:20Z")
> [@Bert\_Nobbins](#): > > This seems like a good application for **vaping**. I understand it’s something like 100 times safer than the tobacco-combustion plan. > [@Rachellelogram](#): > > How significant a time period? I only smoked for 5ish years and quit with an ecig that I still use daily. I suspect I’ll be **vaping** for the rest of my life, because I feel very foggy and stupid without nicotine. That was reflected in mistakes at work that nearly cost me my previous job. The Board likes vape. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/46 "2014-06-27T19:52:25Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > \*\*Does smoking make you smarter? \*\* > > No, but beer does. > > It made Bud wiser. _SLAP_ Ow! (runs away.) One of my friends worked in the Unemployment Insurance office, counselling recipients on interview techniques for jobs. He mentioned one winner, he had to tell him not to wear his hat to an interview. It was not a good impression on prospective employer to be wearing a hat that said “Beer makes me smart!” ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/47 "2014-06-27T20:42:30Z")
> [@johnny\_fishface](#): > > Things that I used to love reading and talking about take me hours to comprehend. And, I think it has to be for one of the following reasons: > > 1. Smoking made me smarter. > So, what do you think has not smoking made me stupid? Brace yourself, Johnny, what I am about to say is dead serious: you almost certainly have ADHD. I smoked two packs a day for 26 years. I also read novels my entire life, anywhere from 2 to 6 every month. I quit smoking in September 2000. Cold turkey, no patches, no nothing. Since that day, 14 years ago, I have read exactly one novel. Starting on that day, I stopped being able to read novels, or any longform writing requiring linear consumption. I told my then therapist about it at the time, and she suggested that I had ADHD, Because ADHD is treated with stimulants, and nicotine is a stimulant. A stimulant that has been shown to be effective in about 10% of ADHD sufferers. I had been self-medicating. I dismissed her suggestion at the time. But over the next five years, as the other symptoms increased in severity, (symptoms which had been present my whole life, And were the primary source of all of my struggles in life) I continued to seek help with my struggles. I had a telephone conversation with a potential therapist, and after describing my issues, he said “you sound like you have ADHD, before you and I start any therapy, I think you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist”. And so it was that at the age of 47, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD, which had only been suspected when I stopped medicating myself with nicotine. That was almost 10 years ago, I have been medicated ever sense, and Unfortunately for me none of the standard meds are effective for me when it comes to reading books, but they help in other ways. I strongly urge you to make an appointment with a psychiatrist familiar with adult ADHD, and get evaluated. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/48 "2014-06-27T20:58:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The Board likes vape. What can I say, it’s vape month. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/49 "2014-06-27T21:49:12Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Brace yourself, Johnny, what I am about to say is dead serious: you almost certainly have ADHD. > > I smoked two packs a day for 26 years. I also read novels my entire life, anywhere from 2 to 6 every month. > > I quit smoking in September 2000. Cold turkey, no patches, no nothing. Since that day, 14 years ago, I have read exactly one novel. Starting on that day, I stopped being able to read novels, or any longform writing requiring linear consumption. > > I told my then therapist about it at the time, and she suggested that I had ADHD, Because ADHD is treated with stimulants, and nicotine is a stimulant. A stimulant that has been shown to be effective in about 10% of ADHD sufferers. I had been self-medicating. > > I dismissed her suggestion at the time. But over the next five years, as the other symptoms increased in severity, (symptoms which had been present my whole life, And were the primary source of all of my struggles in life) I continued to seek help with my struggles. I had a telephone conversation with a potential therapist, and after describing my issues, he said “you sound like you have ADHD, before you and I start any therapy, I think you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist”. > > And so it was that at the age of 47, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD, which had only been suspected when I stopped medicating myself with nicotine. > > That was almost 10 years ago, I have been medicated ever sense, and Unfortunately for me none of the standard meds are effective for me when it comes to reading books, but they help in other ways. > > I strongly urge you to make an appointment with a psychiatrist familiar with adult ADHD, and get evaluated. Did you notice the OP has not posted in over twelve years? Probably dead of lung cancer or something. Anyway. ADHD is a real thing. And nicotine can also be a real cure. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837/50 "2014-06-27T22:20:47Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Did you notice the OP has not posted in over twelve years? Probably dead of lung cancer or something. > > Anyway. ADHD is a real thing. And nicotine can also be a real cure. :eek: I never check for zombie status. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-smoking-make-you-smarter/61837.md?page=2)