Smoking Ups Neuropsychological Toll in Drinkers

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SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Smoking appears to heighten neuropsychological deficits found in heavy social drinkers, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Specifically, deficits in executive functioning and balance seen in people who both smoked and drank heavily were significantly worse than those seen in heavy-drinking nonsmokers, said Timothy C. Durazzo, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist and neuroscience researcher at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center.

"We believe smoking may compound alcohol-induced neurobiologic and neurocognitive dysfunction among individuals with alcohol use disorders," said Dr. Durazzo …