According to a new study the combination of alcohol and second-hand smoke can cause damage to the heart.
The scientists from the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) say drinking alcohol while inhaling second-hand smoke increases the damage cigarette smoke has on the heart.
The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a study on mice in the laboratory and say second-hand smoke or directly smoking while drinking alcohol, is nearly five times worse than breathing fresh air and not drinking alcohol.
For the study the mice were exposed to smoky air in a lab enclosure while being fed a liquid diet containing ethanol (the intoxicating ingredient in alcohol).
The researchers found that the combination increased by almost 5 times the presence of artery lesions, compared to mice breathing normal air and eating a normal diet.
Experts say artery lesions are a common problem in heavy smokers and a sign of advancing cardiovascular disease.
The combination of alcohol and tobacco also was worse than taking tobacco without alcohol and drinking alcohol without tobacco.
The researchers say mice solely exposed to the smoky air had a 2.3-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice who breathed filtered air; mice solely fed a liquid diet containing ethanol had a 3.5-fold increase in artery lesions when compared to mice fed a normal diet.
The UAB team also looked at other signs of advancing cardiovascular disease such as DNA damage and oxidative stress in key heart tissues and they believe their findings are significant because moderate alcohol consumption is commonly thought to be cardioprotective.