We are all used to the game that scientists make out of our health. (Chocolate is bad for you. No, it’s good for you. Well, some of it is good for you.) Another example is that we know excessive smoking and alcoholic drinking is bad for you. Only a retarded person (read: Wii-only owner) would deny such a thing. But now it appears that smoking actually helps recovering alcoholics. Or does it? Well, maybe. Kinda. It depends.

A article on Science Daily cites a study in which recovering alcoholics can enhance their cognitive functions thanks to nicotine. Instead of cancer sticks, researches used nicotine patches in the study. The headline for the article reads:

Nicotine May Enhance Attention And Working Memory In Recovering Alcoholics

The article goes on to state that alcoholics benefited from the extra dose of nicotine and that heightened their cognitive skills. It did also go on to note, however, that this could also be a reason to explain why alcoholics have a hard time trying to stop smoking.But getting alcoholics addicted (or keeping them addicted) to nicotine as a way to cure them of alcoholism wasn’t the only thing I found funny. Next to this story, in the “related stories” section was an article with the headline:

Smoking Interferes With Thinking And Memory In Recovering Alcoholics

So, we have an article with the headline:

Nicotine May Enhance Attention And Working Memory In Recovering Alcoholics

And a related story to that with the headline:

Smoking Interferes With Thinking And Memory In Recovering Alcoholics

Seems pretty cut and dry to me!

Good day, sirs.

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Kevin resides in Chicago where he spends most of his day avoiding Cubs fans and the homeless. He works in marketing for an financial services company.
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