Alcohol is the main cause of why ex-smokers start to smoke again. That’s why the Texas Tech Department of Psychology is researching the effects of binge drinking for to find the reasons why college students relapse back into smoking and whether it influences a person’s urged to smoke.
The author of this study is Joe VanderVeen, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology. Associate professor and Director of Clinical Training Lee Cohen considered that the study of course is timed and necessary.
Previous studies focused firstly on alcohol and not necessarily with smoking. In previous studies were found that no amount of cigarette smoking is considered to be 'safe,' encouraging drinkers at all levels of smoking to reduce their alcohol consumption may in turn reduce frequency or magnitude of cigarette cravings, ostensibly reducing cigarette consumption levels and promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Tully Brown, a senior history major from Rule, said: "People always say, ‘I only smoke when I drink. So it sounds like a good study."
In the study will be enrolled participants which will meet such requirements: He or she is a daily smoker who smokes more than 12 cigarettes every day, have had five or more drinks in less than two hours, three or more in the last month or has not done this in the last year. And he or she is between the ages of 18 and 25 years old.
Selected participants will be asked to come to an incipient screening meeting and asked questions about temperament, smoking use history, including current use, and mood.
Participants will receive up to $100 after completing the study.
"The goal is to come up with a smoking prevention program to help smokers quit or not further their behavior," VanderVeen explained.
He said this is the time when college students between the ages of 18 and 24, who have the highest influence rates, either pick up smoking or become binge drinkers.
Researchers concluded that for people who are initially trying to quit smoking, it would be advised that they either abstain from drinking altogether, or drink only one or two drinks per occasion over a slow time course in order to avoid sharp rises in cigarette craving, which may increase their risk for smoking relapse.