As it happens, there is now an official reason why people only smoke when they drink, and not just because it's fantastic.
In my own biased opinion fewer things match the joy of sparking that first cig during pre-drinks. You've got the whole night ahead of you. A night of cigs and beer, and then another cig, washed down by a beer, quickly chased by a cig, only to be washed down by another beer.
A woman enjoying a smoke. Image: PA
Others may feel repulsed by the idea of not just tabbing with a cold one, but smoking altogether, which, given every single statistic made, makes complete sense.
In the middle exists a sub-genre of smoker: the 'social smoker'. The 'Ooh Karen, I don't usually do this. But on a Saturday night who am I to turn down a bloody Mayfair?'
A new study shows that social smokers puff away on the lash to essentially combat the drowsy feeling that alcohol can often induce. To use a 20 deck as a stimulant.
Former Pope Benedict XVI enjoying a pint (cigarette not pictured/present). Image: PA
"Targeting the increased pleasure from smoking cigarettes when drinking alcohol could enhance effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions among young adults," the study found.
The 'background' was based around cigarette smoking in young adults being strongly associated with alcohol and marijuana.
The participants of the study were young smokers between the ages of 18 and 25 who also reported "past month alcohol or marijuana use enrolled in a randomized trial testing a smoking cessation intervention on Facebook."
Mmmmmmmm, emphysema. Image: PA
The results? "Among cigarette smokers who drank alcohol and used marijuana in the past month (n = 200), a similar percentage of cigarettes were smoked under the influence of alcohol (42.4% ± 31.2%) and marijuana (43.1% ± 30.0%). Among alcohol + marijuana users, perceived pleasure from smoking cigarettes was significantly greater when drinking alcohol versus when using marijuana (t(199) = 7.05, p < .001)."
Does that make sense to you? Seems to take away the fun of a harmless fag and pint when numbers are brought into it, but maybe that's just me.
At the end of the day, some things are just nicer when brought together. Take red wine and cheese, for example. Or bread and butter. Crystal meth and joyriding, the list goes on!
(NB both using crystal meth and stealing cars are very bad. Just say no, kids).
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Science, Cigarettes, Alcohol, Drinking, Smoking