Smoking Makes Hangovers Worse, Study Says

A proper hangover is rarely cured without a bloody mary and a hamburger, but those boozy brunches can get expensive. So what's an easier way to prevent a hangover? Stop smoking.

According to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, researchers found that college students who smoked a cigarette or two before drinking tended to have worse hangovers. Students who didn't smoke before drinking got off easy. "At the same number of drinks, people who smoke more that day are more likely to have a hangover and have more intense hangovers," lead author Dr. Damaris Rohsenow told the Daily Mail.

The actual mechanics of the relationship between smoking and hangovers are still unclear; Rohsenow says that nicotine receptors in the brain are also involved in our response to drinking, both boosting dopamine; the fact that the two substances are linked in the brain might explain why both are linked to hangovers.

Tobacco smoke also contains the chemical acetaldehyde, which plays a part in the nausea and headaches of the worst hangovers; so quit bumming smokes from your friends, especially at your holiday party; you'll be thankful the morning after.