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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.'"
And I find it easier to think abstractly when I do (I did quit for over a year). Smoking forces me to take a break from what I'm doing every once in a while, so I get to separate myself from it. Then I get 5 minutes or so of time to contemplate or for abstract thought. I do honestly find myself more productive when I do smoke. Now, I'm not trying to rationalize it (I hate the fact that I got started again)... Just an observation...
If a man isn't willing to take some risk for his opinions, either his opinions are no good or he's no good
In college I used to smoke at bars and parties to meet girls, but I never got addicted curiously enough. Eventually I found out that the only girls I met were other smokers, whom I usually deemed less than desirable so basically I stopped smoking.
It was a good ice breaker tho.
I would not expect intelligence to have any useful correlation, positive or negative, with the physiological aspects of addiction(cravings, feeling like shit when you haven't had any, improvement on next dose, etc, etc.)
However, one of the abilities that generally falls into the basket of "intelligence" is the ability to do pattern recognition, recognize correlations, and use them to your advantage. There has been some research suggesting that one of the difficulties that people have in quitting any addictive substance is that, when not subject to craving at that particular moment, they consistently underestimate how tempted they will be in the future. It wouldn't totally shock me if smarter people are better at allowing their rational evaluation("No, whenever I 'have just one at the pub', I end up not stopping") to override the consistent emotional underestimate than less smart people are.
There are, I suppose, a variety of other potential confounding variables. For instance, you'd expect that brighter people, in general, should have a modestly better effort/reward ratio than less smart ones. This could easily result in an upbringing that encourages greater obedience to rules and instructions from others that seem to have a realistic basis.(If your parents tell you that you should be sure to work hard in school, and you do, and get good results, this is encouraging. You obey the instructions, and receive praise and recognition. If you obey the instructions; but aren't sharp enough to garner the richest rewards, you are likely to be less encouraged to do so in the future.) In most contemporary societies, there are a variety of risk/reward tradeoffs available. If you are smart enough(and aren't a member of some particularly despised underclass/race/whatever), you have likely had greatest access to the high end of the "low risk/low reward" strategy pool(and the high end of which is basically the "low risk/medium to good reward" pool, pretty attractive). If you are less smart, you are more likely to be stuck with the "low reward" side of the pool if you choose the "low risk" strategy pool. You might, therefore, be induced to (rationally) choose the "high risk" strategy pool.
More generally, the specific cigarettes case aside, I'd be interested to see some mixture of economic and sociological analysis looking at that question. Are people, in fact, substantially irrational, choosing(if one can be so optimistic as to assume that they do in fact choose), courses of action that are just plain stupid as the emtional and instinctive heuristics of a hunter-gatherer collide with modernity? Or are they actually acting rationally(if not always how we'd like them to), if you look at the rewards on average of various strategies, as compared to their other options?
When I was in the military, especially on combat tours, I ended up smoking an unhealthy amount to help me cope. When I got off the plane this last time, I quit cold turkey, and now when I smell regular cigarette smoke I can barely stand it. (Which just now made me realize maybe I associate it with bad things and its not just the smoke itself) , I now have moved to pipe tobacco that is all natural with no chemicals, and smoke about once a week for enjoyment while drinking a cognac or brandy. I feel it is much more enjoyable (longer lasting, smells better) and is slightly better for my health (mouth cancer yes, lung cancer no), but I digress, I got into pipe tobacco when I joined the university scene and ended hanging out with professors and philosophy students, of whom a large amount smoke pipes. Ok now I have no idea what the point of the post was, mmm, maybe I just have a low IQ. Oh mondays mornings, I loathe you. On a side note, as a formally staunch anti-weed guy (couldn't hold security clearance if you smoked) I now have had amazing success with my PTSD using weed instead of alcohol to self-medicate.
"It's ok, I'm completely secure as long as my iron is off"
From what I hear, it is generally accepted that a 5-15 min break every workhour is healthy for you, as well as for your ability to stay focused. I find that if I'm working on a difficult problem, taking a walk while thinking on it is a good way to get ideas for breaking it. Most people just don't take those breaks for a number of reasons, such as forgetting to do it or fear that a boss may think that they are lazy. Smokers, however, have a regular craving, that reminds them to take a smoking break. And it is (still) more acceptable for a smoker to take a smoking break than it is for a non-smoker to take a similar break.(emphasis mine)
My Dad joined the US Navy in '45 (since he was about to be "invited" to join the army). If you smoked, you got a a smoke break every hour. If you didn't smoke, you didn't need a smoke break, now did you? Also cigarettes were free for the sailors -- at least everywhere my Dad was stationed. Philip Morris did his part for the boys. It took Dad 50 years to quit, by which time it was too late.
I am not a crackpot.
According to wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations
Israel is 34th best with a national average IQ of 94.
IF you're American, don't mock. The US is only 19th best globally with an average of 98.
I know tons of "smart" people who smoke. Most of them do it to cope with stress and anxiety.
Despite the fact that it kills you, it's apparently a surprisingly effective antidepressant with very few neurological side-effects. Don't forget the cultural aspect too -- everyone smokes down South.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
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