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.'"

I have a cunning plan..

[somersault]

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

No surprise here

[calibre-not-output]

"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?

Re:But...

[roman_mir]

what are these 'women' you are talking about?

Re:inhaling dangerous chemicals lowers IQ?

[MrKaos]

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.

government to rethink education on smoking

[Culture20]

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.

Re:I have a cunning plan..

[bmo]

>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

Re:No surprise here

[Zapotek]

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...

"correlationisnotcausation"

[CODiNE]

says all the smokers in the audience.

tee hee. :)

Re:Duh

[Bloopie]

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.

Re:But...

[Opportunist]

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

Re:Also...

[vertseven]

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

Re:Duh

[PopeRatzo]

licking an ashtray

Is that code for something?

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

Re:Duh

[PopeRatzo]

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.

Re:Duh

[Nadaka]

Not all of use are proctologists you know.

Re:But...

[natehoy]

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

Re:I smoke...

[simoncpu was here]

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

Re:Duh

[Bigbutt]

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

[John]

Re:Duh

[addsalt]

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.

Re:Duh

[bwintx]

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

Or, as we would say today:
WHOOSH.

Re:This is completely wrong

[AthleteMusicianNerd]

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.