If you've heard from someone (or experienced it yourself) that smoking alleviates "highness" from alcohol drinking, then it is probably true. That's why many drinkers smoke, and many smokers drink.

That is exactly the "mystery" that a novel experiment in rodents have discovered and explained: nicotine can reduce blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at dosage levels that could be achieved by human smokers, thereby leading to more drinking.

"Since the desired effect of alcohol is significantly diminished by nicotine - particularly among heavy or binge drinkers such as college students - this may encourage drinkers to drink more to achieve the pleasurable or expected effect," said Wei-Jung A. Chen, associate professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

"In other words, cigarette smoking appears to promote the consumption of alcohol."

Now it's no wonder why smoking and drinking go hand in hand "pretty well". I should know, been there...done that.

This concept of "cross tolerance" have been present since the 1950s, yet only two studies have examined the pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and nicotine, according to co-author Scott Parnell (postdoctoral research fellow at the University of North Carolina).

Aside from those two studies, little is known about the interaction of effects of nicotine on alcohol metabolism, and especially how nicotine lowers BACs.

Remember those times when you can't drink without smoking, or the other way around?

I do.

Now we all know the reason why.

Results of this new study are published in the August issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Read more at Eurekalert.