Slashdot Mirror


Young Men Who Smoke Have Lower IQs

Hugh Pickens writes "Science Daily reports on a study that has determined that young men who smoke are likely to have lower IQs than their non-smoking peers. In the study, conducted with 20,000 Israeli Army recruits and veterans, the average IQ for a non-smoker was about 101, while the smokers' average was more than seven IQ points lower at about 94, and the IQs of young men who smoked more than a pack a day were lower still, at about 90. (These IQs all fall within the normal range.) 'In the health profession, we've generally thought that smokers are most likely the kind of people to have grown up in difficult neighborhoods, or who've been given less education at good schools,' says Prof. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychiatry, whose study was reported in a recent version of the journal Addiction. 'Because our study included subjects with diverse socio-economic backgrounds, we've been able to rule out socio-economics as a major factor. The government might want to rethink how it allocates its educational resources on smoking.' Prof. Weiser says that the study illuminates a general trend in epidemiological studies. 'People on the lower end of the average IQ tend to display poorer overall decision-making skills when it comes to their health,' says Weiser. 'Schoolchildren who have been found to have a lower IQ can be considered at risk to begin the habit, and can be targeted with special education and therapy to prevent them from starting or to break the habit after it sets in.'"

20 of 561 comments (clear)

  1. I have a cunning plan.. by somersault · · Score: 3, Funny

    Make cigarettes more damaging to health, and let Darwin sort em out!

    --
    which is totally what she said
    1. Re:I have a cunning plan.. by bmo · · Score: 5, Funny

      >Make cigarettes more damaging to health, and let Darwin sort em out!

      My parents used to smoke Kent cigarettes a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. I remembered as a kid that it advertised the cigs had the "Micronite Filter" on each pack.

      Years later, I found out that the "Micronite" was blue asbestos.

      Yep.

      --
      BMO

  2. No surprise here by calibre-not-output · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Hmm, I think I'll set fire to this paper tube full of tar and inhale the smoke, even though countless studies have shown it will give me bad breath, impotence and cancer!" Sounds like a real genius, doesn't it?

    --
    Nothing lasts forever but the certainty of change.
    1. Re:No surprise here by Zapotek · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's why I tell people to stop smoking cigarettes..smoke mini-cigars instead...
      Hell, if you're gonna do something wrong at least do it right...

  3. Re:But... by roman_mir · · Score: 5, Funny

    what are these 'women' you are talking about?

  4. Re:inhaling dangerous chemicals lowers IQ? by MrKaos · · Score: 2, Funny

    it's not the tobacco since a lot of smart people smoke cigars. it's the extras like uranium, polonium and hundreds of other chemicals that the tobacco companies spray on cigarretes that are really bad for you

    I used to joke that cigarettes had vitamin C in them...until I found out they did.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  5. government to rethink education on smoking by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Funny

    SMOKING BAD!
    BAD SMOKING!

    This message has been brought to you by the Surgeon General's campaign against heart and lung disease, and is intended for viewers with lower IQs. If your IQ is above 95, this was not intended to be condescending in any way.

  6. "correlationisnotcausation" by CODiNE · · Score: 1, Funny

    says all the smokers in the audience.

    tee hee. :)

    --
    Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
  7. Re:Duh by Bloopie · · Score: 5, Funny

    You are forgetting that some of us smoke because ::gasp:: we enjoy it.

    Yeah, but you can't even get to the end of a sentence without gasping. I think I'll stay away from smoking, thank you.

  8. Re:But... by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think he means the people whose name end in ".jpg".

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. Re:Also... by vertseven · · Score: 2, Funny

    Perhaps, if you weren't strung out on caffeine and nicotine, your IQ range would be plural and not possessive.

    --

    -vert-
    love the penguin
  10. Re:Duh by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

    licking an ashtray

    Is that code for something?

    I couldn't find any references to "licking the ashtray" at Urban Dictionary.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  11. Re:Duh by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not only is smoking enjoyable, but it's manly and patriotic.

    If not for tobacco, it's quite possible that the USA would not exist today and we'd all still be speaking English.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  12. Re:Duh by Nadaka · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not all of use are proctologists you know.

  13. Re:But... by natehoy · · Score: 4, Funny

    I prefer the ones whose names end in ".avi" - they seem more... alive, somehow.

    --
    "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
  14. Re:I smoke... by simoncpu+was+here · · Score: 2, Funny

    Jah, mon! What we need is ganja! Thank you for finally recognizing its beneficial health effects.

  15. Re:Duh by Bigbutt · · Score: 5, Funny

    My wife smoked and poked when she was younger. She's since given up both :(

    [John]

    --
    Shit better not happen!
  16. Re:Duh by addsalt · · Score: 4, Funny

    I had a naval recruiter after me for the longest time. It was pretty clear that he was angling for people that weren't particularly bright or of much value

    At least you figured out why he was after you.

  17. Re:Duh by bwintx · · Score: 4, Funny

    "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." - George Bernard Shaw.

    Or, as we would say today:
    WHOOSH.

    --
    Discussion System prefs link: http://slashdot.org/users.pl?op=editcomm
  18. Re:This is completely wrong by AthleteMusicianNerd · · Score: 2, Funny

    Plus you really can't be that smart(even if your score was respectable) since the label on the package says what you're doing is really stupid, metaphorically speaking. That's like saying the girl in Scary Movie who ran up the stairs when the sign said "Certain Death(pointing up the stairs)" might be smart if she scored high on an IQ test.