Are people who smoke "dumb," or does smoking dumb them down? At least one connection - that long-term smoking brings down IQ - has been suggested by a new University of Michigan study. Although many smokers claim a cigarette helps them concentrate and feel more alert, years of tobacco use may have the opposite effect, dimming the speed and accuracy of a person's thinking ability and bringing down their IQ, according to the study of 172 alcoholic and non-alcoholic men that had initially been aimed at examining the long-term effects of alcoholism on the brain and thinking skills. The Israel Cancer Association has used the IQ-lowering phenomenon to promote smoking-cessation courses. While the researchers confirmed previous findings that alcoholism is associated with thinking problems and lower IQ, their analysis also revealed that long-term smoking is too. The effect on memory, problem-solving and IQ was most pronounced among those who had smoked for years. The findings are the first to suggest a direct relationship between smoking and neurocognitive function among men with alcoholism.More about:Israelfunction initServerVars() { _headup.clientHost = 'http://newstopics.jpost.com'; _headup.termsFromServer = 'Israel'; _headup.annotatedTerms = ['dbpedia:Israel$$1'] _headup.widgetMode = 'snippet'; _headup.snippetButtonStyle = 'banner'; _headup.blackListedUrl = false; } <!-- Terms Count: 1 TTL: 60 Terms From Server: Israel DateTime: 6/1/2011 7:29:03 AM -->
