Turns out that the association between drinking and smoking (as in, "I only smoke when I'm having a few drinks.") isn't just a cultural or social phenomenon.  According to the Duke University Center for Nicotine and Smoking Research, alcohol and certain other foods, like red meat, actually make tobacco taste better. And apparently, vegetables and dairy products make tobacco taste horrible. 

Of course, drinking less alcohol and eating more vegetables probably wouldn't lessen your cravings for nicotine, it might just lessen your enjoyment of cigarettes. And we've all seen smokers huddling outside in miserable weather in order to have a smoke, so I'm not sure that making smoking less pleasurable is enough to break the habit.

If you've quit or tried to quit smoking, I'd be interested to know whether you felt that diet and nutrition  was a factor. Did eating healthier make it easier? Did you use find yourself using food (especially sweets or fatty foods) as a replacement?

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