The Young Male Cigarette and Alcohol Syndrome

Abstract

Despite the many health risks of tobacco and alcohol use, high levels of smoking and drinking are being persisted. Moreover, young men engage more in these behaviors as compared to women. As male physical risk-taking behavior gains attractiveness in short-term mating contexts and given that smoking and drinking have considerable physical costs, this study explores the possibility that tobacco and alcohol use is part of a male short-term mating strategy. By means of a between-subjects experiment (N ¼ 239), women's perceptions of young male smoking and drinking were investigated. The experiment showed that women perceive men who smoke and drink as being more short-term oriented in their sexuality than nonusers. Moreover, both tobacco and (especially) alcohol use brought some attractiveness benefits in short-term mating contexts. A follow-up study (N ¼ 171) confirmed that men's behavior corresponds with women's perceptions. Overall, these findings show that cigarette and alcohol use can operate as a short-term mating strategy.

Outdoor smoking in Nigeria: prevalence, correlates and predictors

“…Consistent with previous literatures [30, 40], smokers in our sample comprised of predominantly men. This may be because men are more likely to be involved in risk taking behaviours such as drinking and smoking [46], men also strive for leadership and sexual prowess [47].…”

Operational Sex Ratio Predicts Binge Drinking Across U.S. Counties

“…This idea is related to Zahavi's (1975) handicap principle, where females of many species prefer males that display exaggerated traits that are costly to maintain and develop; hence, these traits serve as "honest" signals. Indeed, occasional drinkers and frequent drinkers were rated as significantly more attractive than nondrinkers, especially in short-term mating contexts (Vincke, 2016). Additionally, a recent review of the evolution of human sex-specific cognitive abilities by Geary (2017) identifies alcohol as a stressor/intoxicant that compromises the building, maintenance, and expression of sexually selected traits.…”

Drinking High Amounts of Alcohol as a Short-Term Mating Strategy: The Impact of Short-Term Mating Motivations on Young Adults’ Drinking Behavior

“…According to a large amount of studies, there is a strong link between consuming alcohol and engaging in casual sexual behavior (Cooper, 2002(Cooper, , 2006Grello et al, 2006;Lindgren et al, 2009;Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000;Turchik, Garske, Probst, & Irvin, 2010). In addition, research shows a positive correlation between drinking alcohol and having a short-termoriented mating strategy, both when looking at drinking frequency and average drinking behavior (Vincke, 2016a(Vincke, , 2016b. Also studies on drinking games confirm that a higher alcohol consumption is linked to being more sexually unrestricted, in both young men and young women (Hone & McCullough, 2015;Hone, Carter, & Mccullough, 2013).…”

“…Research shows that there is a strong relationship between drinking alcohol and engaging in short-term sexual relations (e.g., Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006;Lindgren, Pantalone, Lewis, & George, 2009). In addition, recent studies suggest that the high prevalence of heavy alcohol consumption among young adults might be (partially) explained because risky drinking could function as a short-term mating strategy (Vincke, 2016a(Vincke, , 2016b. Accordingly, a high alcohol consumption might be engaged in by sexually unrestricted young adults as a signal in mating situations.…”