Some Smoking Laws Could Help Reduce Drinking

Though smoking is a leading cause of preventable death throughout the world, many are simply unable to give up the nasty habit. Furthermore, certain types of environment may even encourage the dangerous problem. Recent news regarding New Yorkers, in particular, has shown that many are smoking more.

Now, recent findings published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, show that higher cigarette taxes and stricter smoke-free laws can encourage a stop to the problem and effectively reduce the risk of smoking, as well as reduce the risk of alcohol-related smoking.

"In situations when smokers are drinking alcohol, it tends to trigger cravings for a cigarette," explained corresponding author for the study, Melissa J. Krauss, senior statistical data analyst at Washington University School of Medicine, in a news release. "Some people even tend to smoke only when they drink, but not at any other time."

For the study, researchers examined the state per capital alcohol consumption between 1980 and 2009. They analyzed the consumption rates in relation to the price of a cigarette pack and smoke-free policies in each state to find that throughout this time period, cigarette prices and stricter laws for indoor smoking were directly tied to a reduction in consumption of beer and spirits. However, the same was not seen for wine.

Furthermore, researchers even found a 20 percent increase in the price of cigarettes in a 2 percent decrease in per capita beer intake. There was also an 11 percent reduction in per capita spirits consumption, according to reports.