Unfair assumption # 16: There is something seriously wrong with the intellect and/or self esteem of anyone who chooses to begin smoking today.

There is something seriously wrong with the intellect and/or self esteem of anyone who chooses to begin smoking today. Call me naïve, but I have never understood why anyone chooses to begin smoking anymore. The documented health risks, the social stigma, the high cost of cigarettes and the negative impact on one’s physical appearance all make the decision to begin smoking inexplicable to me.

I understand why my mother smoked. Her generation didn’t know any better. When she was born, well over half of Americans smoked, and warning labels did not appear until 1966. But even when I was growing up in the 1980s, it was abundantly clear that cigarettes killed people and the number of smokers in the world was rapidly declining.

Today about 17% of Americans smoke, down from 25% when I was a teenager. Since a nonsmoker is considerably less likely to date a smoker, the reduction in the dating pool alone should deter young people from smoking.

Yet every year, middle and high school students begin smoking.

Like I said, there has to be something wrong with these kids.

Right?

Either you lack the intellect required to understand simple cause and effect relationships or you lack the self esteem required to stand up to peers who lack the intellect to understand simple cause and effect relationships.

I can’t think of any other explanation. Either you’re an idiot or you’re powerless to the influence of idiots.

In the midst of writing this post, I found myself wondering if this unfair assumption has ever been tested.

Do smokers have lower IQ scores than nonsmokers? Are smokers dumber than nonsmokers.

It turns out that they are. Many studies have been done on the subject, and again and again, the findings have indicated that smokers tend to have lower IQ scores than nonsmokers. In addition, research shows that the more you smoke, the lower your IQ score.

It turns out that my unfair assumption isn’t so unfair after all. Smokers are dumber than nonsmokers.

The New York Times recently reported that the share of middle and high school students who are using e-cigarettes doubled in 2012 from the previous year. While e-cigarettes are presumably safer than traditional cigarettes, there is little research on the subject, and the dangers of nicotine addiction remain.

Not to mention you are forced to walk around with a plastic stick hanging out of your mouth.

There is no existing research on the IQ levels of people who smoke using e-cigarettes, but I think it’s safe (but perhaps unfair) to assume that a person who thinks it’s a good idea to stick a plastic, nicotine dispensing device into one’s mouth on a regular basis is probably not as smart as the one who chooses not to.

Call it a hunch.