Women Are Drawn To Drinkers And Smokers For Short-Term But Not Long-Term Relationships

Women tend to be drawn towards men who smoke and drink, for short-term relationship partners. This is responsible for men's dangerous behaviours, says a new study from Ghent University in Belgium.

Young men tend to indulge in smoking and drinking alcohol, even though most of them are aware of the consequences. Moreover, while women are attracted to men for a short time, they tend to avoid them as long-term partners, says Ask Men.

Hence, most men tend to fall into the reproductive edge of increased chances of temporary mating, rather than get cautious about the effects of some disease such as cancer.

A sample of 239 women led by researcher Eveline Vincke, showed whether women's perceptions on men's habits matched the hypothesis of evolutionary psychology or not.

The habits of the men could be "heavy, moderate or low," and women tended to go by their riskiness and wellness as well as their appeal to women.

The women in the study also rated the behaviors as strong indicators of their "risk-taking personality, relationship preferences, and wellness." However, they preferred non-smokers and non-drinkers for long-term relationships.

The study proved that the emphasis on the damaging physical effects of alcohol and tobacco merely to  avoid unhealthy behaviour may not work out to be too effective, as it may even become counterproductive, according to EVP.

"Not only do these findings show that emphasising the physical harmful effects of cigarettes and alcohol... might not be effective," Vincke wrote. "It may even turn out to be contra-productive."