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It\u2019s not uncommon for a smoker to drink and drinker to smoke.\u00a0 The two habits tend to go hand in hand.\u00a0 According to statistics 80 to 95% of alcoholics also smoke cigarettes. So why do they go together?<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not uncommon for a smoker to drink and drinker to smoke.\u00a0 The two habits tend to go hand in hand.\u00a0 According to statistics 80 to 95% of alcoholics also smoke cigarettes. So why do they go together?<\/p>\n
One theory:<\/strong> Another possibility:<\/strong> Two dangerous addictions:<\/strong> “Research attention has been minor until recently,” acknowledged Kenneth A. Perkins, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Many in the alcohol field did not feel smoking was an important problem for alcoholics, that maintaining sobriety was the critical factor. Most studies in the smoking field would exclude those with current or past alcohol dependence. Furthermore, funding has typically come from different agencies – one for alcohol, another for smoking\/nicotine – which allowed studies of alcohol and smoking to fall through the cracks.”<\/p>\n
\n“There are many theories of why smoking and alcoholism go together,” said John R. Hughes, professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study. “Some studies suggest that the same genes that predispose people to alcoholism also predispose them to smoking. Some have thought there is an ‘addictive personality’ that becomes addicted to many things, but research suggests this is not so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAnother idea is that since smoking stimulates the body and alcohol relaxes it, both are needed to create a sense of balance or normalcy.<\/p>\n
\nThe study points out that cigarettes kill more alcoholics than drinking does.\u00a0 It\u2019s a concept that has not been well studied, according to researchers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/sd2.jpg\")
<\/a>Smoking aids can help:<\/strong>
\nFor those struggling to put down the cigarettes, an FDA approved medication may help.\u00a0Zyban can be taken while a person is trying to quit smoking and helps a person wean themselves off cigarettes without the use of nicotine.\u00a0 Research shows this medication can help smokers quick the habit more efficiently than a patch or trying to quit cold turkey.<\/p>\n