Smoking While Drinking May Increase Hangover Risk
New research published Wednesday in the online Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs accuses smoking as a reason why some people may experience more intense hangovers than others.
Over a hundred college students were targeted in a study that examined drinking and smoking habits in relation to hangovers.
The students reported how often they drank and smoked over a two month period, and researchers examined how the two activities affected each other.
On average, people experience hangovers after they have reached a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent, Brown University professor and researcher Dr. Damaris J. Rohsenow said.
"At the same number of drinks, people who smoke more that day are more likely to have a hangover and have more intense hangovers," Rohsenow said in a press conference.
Researchers are unsure why smoking heightens the effects of hangovers, but they believe that nicotene receptors in the brain are involved in influencing our drinking levels.
"Since alcohol and tobacco both interact with receptors in the brain it is not surprising that smoking appears to increase the risk of a hangover in people who consume both substances," Action on Smoking and Health research manager Amanda Sandford told BBC.
Rohsenow recommends drinking lots of water and taking a painkiller with aspirin or ibuprofen, but not acetaminophin (Tylenol), to avoid hangover symptoms in the morning.
