TUESDAY, March 30, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Even small amounts of alcohol increase the pleasurable effects of nicotine, which leads people to smoke more when they're drinking alcohol, says a Duke University Medical Center study.
The findings offer a physiological explanation for why people smoke more when they're in bars. It may also help explain why alcoholics tend to smoke more than non-drinkers and why smokers could be more likely to be alcoholics.
The study, in the February/March issue of Nicotine and Tobacco Research, may also explain why people who have quit smoking often relapse when they drink alcohol.
This new insight into the interaction between alcohol and nicotine could help in the development of new ways to help people quit smoking.
The Duke study included 48 regular smokers who were given either alcoholic or placebo beverages and either regular or nicotine-free cigarettes.
According to ratings done by the volunteers, alcohol enhanced many of the rewarding effects of nicotine, including satisfaction and nicotine's calming effects. However, they did not have the same positive response about alcohol when they smoked nicotine-free cigarettes.
That indicates that nicotine itself, rather than other aspects of smoking, is the critical ingredient in the smoking-drinking interaction, the Duke researchers conclude.
"A relatively low dose of alcohol -- below that required to induce any measurable euphoria -- was enough to increase participants' enjoyment of nicotine significantly. In light of the current finding, it makes sense that so many people who have quit smoking relapse when they drink," Jed Rose, director of the Duke Nicotine Research Program, says in a prepared statement.
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about nicotine addiction.
