Why smokers may be less intelligent
Cigarette smokers have lower IQ than nonsmokers, and the more a person smokes, the lower its rate, according to a study of about 20,000 Israeli conscripts. Dr. Mark Weiser and his colleagues at the Medical Center at a Tel Hashomer Sheba Medical found that youths who smoked a pack of cigarettes or more a day had IQ's 7.5 points lower than nonsmokers. "Adolescents with low scores in IQ should be goal of programs designed to prevent snuff they conclude in the journal Addiction. While there is evidence of the relationship between smoking and lower IQ, many studies have been based on intelligence tests carried out in childhood , and have involved people with mental or behavioral problems, which are more likely to smoke and have a low IQ, said Weiser and his team. To better understand the relationship between snuff and IQ, the scientists looked at 20,211 young people recruited by the Israeli Army. The group did not include anyone with serious mental health problems, because such i...