What happens to my body when I smoke and drink?

Smoking and drinking alcohol often go hand-in-hand. Nicotine changes how the brain responds to alcohol,^{1 2} which means more alcohol is needed before you get the same feel-good response that someone who doesn’t smoke gets after a couple of drinks. Meanwhile, alcohol increases the urge to smoke, and the level of feel-good chemicals produced in the brain by nicotine. The result is that one encourages the other.

This leads to a big problem.

Smoking and drinking together dramatically raises your risk of cancer

Smoking and drinking alcohol both individually increase your risk of cancer and other diseases, and their use together increases the risk even more, especially in your throat and mouth.^{3 4} These are known as head and neck cancers and your risk increases because alcohol may cause changes to cells in the mouth and throat that make it easier to absorb the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke. Alcohol may change how the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke are broken down in the body, making them even more harmful.

Your risk also increases the more you drink and smoke:

• Even smoking fewer than 20 cigarettes and drinking just 1-2 drinks a day increases your risk of head or neck cancers by 4 times.⁴

• Drinking more heavily and smoking increases your risk even more, by up to 16 times that of someone who does not smoke.⁴

• And if you both drink heavily and smoke heavily, your risk of head and neck cancers increases by 35 times.^{1 4}

Remember, even “social smoking” or just having cigarettes when you drink will increase your risk of cancer. Drinking can also affect your memory, which may make it hard to remember how much you’ve smoked.

Drinking and smoking also has immediate effects

If you smoke, you're more likely to have hangovers and to have worse hangovers when you have a lot to drink. It also makes for a pricy night out. Quitting helps you and your bank account feel better the following day.

How to manage quitting and alcohol

The best thing you can do is steer clear of Friday or Saturday night drinks, just for a few weeks, until your body gets used to being without nicotine.

If that’s not possible, use these tips to conquer the urge to smoke when you’re around alcohol and cigarettes:

• Take something to keep your hands busy – playing with your necklace, watch or phone can help.

• Walk around the block or jump in a taxi if it's getting tough. 

• Consider what you’ll say to people if they offer you a smoke. Something polite like ‘No thank you, I don’t smoke anymore’ is a good idea.

• Ask your friends to support your decision to quit smoking and to not offer you cigarettes.

• Stick to one or two drinks, or drink water between drinks. Too much alcohol can weaken your plan to stop smoking and make you more likely to have a cigarette.

• Be wary of the “just one” thought. It usually leads to full-time smoking again and people who don’t smoke don’t need “just one” anyway.

Each time you manage a craving you’re helping your mind to break the link between that activity – such as drinking and smoking. You’re teaching yourself not to smoke, one day and one step at a time.

If you need a little more support, give Quitline (13 7848) a call or request a Quitline callback. Quitline counsellors can help you build a strategy for a night out without falling back on smoking.

There are many ways to contact Quitline:

There are multiple ways to get in touch with Quitline including by phone 13 7848, the online Request a callback form, WhatsApp and more:

Please note, this information is for general use only.  Please consult your health professional for further advice.  

If you would like to provide feedback, please contact quit@quit.org.au 

Last updated August 2024